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The  Education  of 
the  Women  of  India 


A Parsi  Girl 


f JUN  24  1913  j 

rr-\|  i — > I • f 

4 he  Education  or 
the  Women  of  India 


By 

MINNA  G.  COWAN,  M.A.  (t.c.d.) 

Girton  College 


ILLUSTRATED 


Oliphant,  Anderson  & Ferrier 

Edinburgh  and  London 


PRINTED  BY 


TURNBULL  AND  SPEARS, 


EDINBURGH 


Preface 


It  has  been  well  said  that  no  Western  should 
attempt  to  make  any  general  statement  about 
inscrutable  India  ; the  most  he  can  venture  to 
say  is,  that  “ in  certain  places  certain  things 
which  he  saw  may  possibly  have  been  what  he 
thought  they  really  were.”  The  present  volume 
is  therefore  based  upon  appearances  which  may 
or  may  not  have  represented  reality,  upon  con- 
versations with  Government  officials,  missionaries 
and  Indian  friends,  who  kindly  gave  of  their 
leisure  to  a stranger,  and  upon  the  study  of 
Government  Reports.  Where  any  generalization 
has  been  made,  the  writer  trusts  it  will  be  taken 
with  the  reservations  which  a very  brief  residence 
in  the  East  renders  needful.  If  the  book  help 
the  women  of  the  West  to  realize  how  critical 
is  the  present  evolutionary  period  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  women  of  India,  especially  in  its 

5 


6 


Preface 


relation  to  constructive  Christianity,  it  will  not 
have  failed  of  its  purpose. 

My  thanks  are  specially  due  to  Miss  Richardson 
and  Miss  M'Dougall  of  Westfield  College  for 
aid  in  revision,  to  many  friends  for  their  unstinted 
help,  and  to  the  Faculty  of  Advocates  for  the  use 
of  their  Library.  M.  G.  C. 


Edinburgh,  July  1912. 


So 

the 

G.  A. 


Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Introduction 13 

II.  Historical  Survey  ....  29 

III.  Burma 60 

IV.  Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  ...  78 

V.  Bengal 100 

VI.  Interesting  Institutions  in  the  United 

Provinces  and  the  Punjab  . . 129 

VII.  Sidelights  on  some  Native  States  . 146 

VIII.  Bombay  .......  160 

IX.  University  Education  . . . .192 

X.  The  Religious  Element  in  Education  . 223 

XI.  Conclusion  ......  244 

Bibliography 253 

Index 254 

9 


Illustrations 

A Parsi  Girl  Frontispiece 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

Government  Examination  of  Girls,  Calcutta  . 52 

Girls  at  St  Luke’s  Mission,  Toungoo,  Burma  . 62 

Ghurka  Girl  Boarder  at  S.P.G.  Girls’  School, 

Mandalay  ......  68 

A Hill  School,  Eastern  Bengal  ...  80 

High  School  Class,  Eastern  Bengal  ...  90 

Four  Scholarship  Girls.  United  Free  Church 

Mission  School  for  Hindus,  Calcutta  . . 120 

Standards  I.  to  IV.  United  Free  Church  Mission 

School  for  Hindus,  Calcutta  . . .126 

The  Isabella  Thoburn  College,  Lucknow  . . 136 

C.M.S.  Middle  School,  Amritsar — Hoop  Drill  . 142 

The  Alphabet  Class,  Nasirabad  . . .156 

The  University  Settlement  Students’  Hostel, 

Bombay  ......  208 

Ludhiana  School  of  Medicine — Hospital  Court 

Yard  with  Patients  . . . . .216 

10 


Statistical  Tables 


TABLE 

I.  Management  of  Girls’  Schools.  All 

India  ..... 

CHAP. 

II. 

l'AGE 

48 

II.  Classification  by  Race  or  Creed.  All 

India  ..... 

II. 

49 

III.  Management  of  Girls’  Schools. 

Burma 

III. 

65 

IV.  Classification  by  Race  or  Creed. 

Burma 

III. 

70 

V.  Comparative  Figures.  Bengal 

IV. 

107 

VI.  Management  of  Girls’  Schools. 
Bengal  .... 

V. 

108 

VII.  Management  of  Girls’  Schools. 

United  Provinces  . 

VI. 

132 

VIII.  Management  of  Girls’  Schools. 

Bombay  .... 

VIII. 

168 

IX.  Classification  by  Race  or  Creed. 

Bombay  .... 

VIII. 

169 

X.  Diagram  of  University  Courses 

IX. 

204 

XI.  Classification  of  College  Students 

IX. 

197 

ii 


Statistical  Tables 


1 2 


APPENDIX 

PAGE 

A.  Matriculation  Course  ....  250 

B.  Teachers’  Certificates  ....  251 

C.  Growth  of  Female  Education  in  India  252 


I 


INTRODUCTION 


“ That  is  true  knowledge  which  can  make 
Us  mortals  saintlike,  holy,  pure, 

The  strange  thirst  of  the  spirit  slake 
And  strengthen  suffering  to  endure.” 

Toru  Dutt. 

TO  write  a book  on  the  education  of  Indian 
women  is  a prosaic  action  impelled  by 
Western  devotion  to  matter  of  fact ; it 
would  be  more  fitting  to  write  of  the  veil  of  mystic 
romance  which  has  hidden  the  sorrows  and  the 
joys  of  Indian  women  from  the  world ; of  the 
Rajput  women  who  issued  from  the  royal  zenana 
to  lead  a forlorn  cause  against  their  country’s 
foes,  or  passed  by  hundreds  to  a fiery  death  rather 
than  touch  the  conqueror’s  hand  ; of  those  whose 
intrigue  and  strategy  were  redeemed  from  false- 
ness by  underlying  devotion  to  others,  of  those 
who  rose  above  the  symbols  of  ritual  and  worship 
to  the  true  perception  of  the  Divine  in  life.  But 
the  modem  world  of  the  East  has  its  own  romance, 
that  of  the  meeting  ^of  diverse  civilizations,  of 


13 


14  Education  of  Women  of  India 

the  craving  for  truth  and  reality,  of  multitudes 
in  the  valley  of  decision.  The  old  chivalry  is  there 
in  a new  form.  It  is  not  a little  thing  to  open 
the  door  of  self-realization,  with  its  opportunity 
for  an  even  greater  selflessness,  to  the  myriads 
of  Indian  women.  The  new  thought  and  new 
ideals  which  are  permeating  the  whole  East 
have  no  more  striking  phase  than  their  manifesta- 
tion in  the  life  of  women.  The  tentative  attitude 
towards  growing  freedom,  the  hesitation  to  enter 
in  and  possess,  the  recurring  tragedy  of  those  who 
are  ahead  of  their  times,  and  of  others  for  whom 
the  new  wine  is  too  strong,  are  only  partial 
aspects  of  a problem  which  cuts  deep  into  modem 
civilization.  The  women  who  live  behind  the 
veil  in  India,  or  who,  though  without,  are  utterly 
untouched  by  modern  education  and  modern 
ideas,  are  still  the  vast  majority,  and  there  is  in 
no  sense  a Feminist  movement  such  as  exists  in 
Japan  and  to  a certain  extent  in  China  ; still, 
the  new  type  is  there,  the  pioneer  in  a transitional 
period  and  the  fruit  of  modem  education.  A 
Mohammedan  lady  of  good  social  standing  in 
Bombay  keeps  a school  for  poor  girls  in  her  own 
house,  and  has  completely  given  up  parda ; 
Brahma  Samaj  1 ladies  are  doing  excellent  work 
on  Government  Education  Committees ; an 
orthodox  Hindu  lady  goes  on  tour  to  advocate 
a special  system  of  Hindu  schools ; an  Arya 

1 An  Indian  Theistic  sect  eclectic  in  character, 
founded  by  Raja  Rammohan  Roy  in  Calcutta,  1828. 
Cp.  New  Ideas  in  India — John  Morrison,  D.D. 


Introduction 


15 


Samaj 2 widow  staffs  a school  for  high  caste  girls  in 
her  own  house  with  entirely  voluntary  teachers. 
An  excellent  Ladies’  Magazine  is  edited  by  an 
Indian  woman  graduate  in  Madras.  A Parsi  woman 
holds  the  position  of  Legal  Adviser  for  parda- 
nashin 3 women  to  the  Government  of  Bengal. 
Indian  women  are  found  doing  excellent  work  as 
doctors,  and  a few  as  principals  of  girls’  schools. 
It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  examples  not  only 
of  those  who  have  taken  up  definite  professional 
life,  but  also  of  others  who  share  in  the  work  and 
interests  of  their  husbands  as  closely  as  any 
woman  of  the  West,  and  who  use  their  social 
influence  on  the  side  of  progress  ; the  Maharani 
of  Baroda  has  written  a book  to  interpret  to  her 
more  secluded  countrywomen  the  many  phases 
of  the  Englishwoman’s  life  ; the  Begum  of  Bhopal, 
on  her  return  from  the  Coronation,  summoned 
the  Ladies’  Club  of  her  capital  to  exhort  them 
once  more  on  the  never-failing  theme  of  education 
as  the  root  of  all  progress ; the  Rani  of  Gondal 
and  many  other  Indian  princesses  take  a personal 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  their  people.  The  same 
phase  is  also  to  be  seen  in  other  ranks  ; we  find 
the  orthodox  Hindu  wife  of  an  Indian  Deputy 
Commissioner  accompanying  him  on  tour  through 
his  district,  rather  than  that  he  should  live  the 

2 Or  Vedic  Theistic  Association,  a patriotic  and 
religious  sect,  chiefly  in  the  United  Provinces  and  the 
Punjab.  Founded  in  1875  by  Dyanand  Saraswati. 
Cp.  as  above. 

Women  who  remain  behind  the  curtain. 


1 6 Education  of  Women  of  India 

greater  part  of  his  life  apart  from  her.4  Then 
there  are  the  transitional  types,  women  who 
venture  thus  far  and  tremble  on  the  brink  of 
many  complicated  problems ; the  wives  of 
“ England-returned  ” men,  whose  anglicized 
husbands  have  done  their  best  to  educate  them, 
and  by  leading  them  painfully  through  the  new 
ideas  to  bring  them,  to  some  extent  at  least,  into 
the  “ reformed  life.”  5 There  is  much  that  is 
pathetic  here,  and  the  tragedy  of  “ The  Broken 
Road,”  has  its  counterpart  to-day  in  the  heart  of 
many  an  Indian  girl,  who  knows  that  the  husband 
who  is  studying  in  Britain  will,  when  he  returns, 
have  entered  a new  world  in  which  she  can  never 
share.  And  so  by  many  stages  one  passes  back 
to  the  old,  the  real,  India,  where  the  woman 
graduates  in  suffering,  and  where  the  babies  seem 
to  grow,  with  no  stage  of  girlhood,  into  little  women 
on  whom  the  burden  of  life  falls  heavily.  Yet 
who  can  say  whether  the  influence  of  these 
“ secluded  ones  ” is  not  even  yet  the  most  potent 
factor  in  modern  India  ? 

The  “ advanced  ones  ” have  their  corporate 
life,  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  in 
India  to-day  is  the  number  of  women’s  societies 
which  are  springing  up,  partly  in  conjunction 
with  European  ladies  and  partly  by  entirely 
spontaneous  effort.  The  traveller  accustomed  to 
read  of  secluded  Indian  ladies  would  be  surprised 

4 Among  Indian  Rajahs  and  Ryots  — Sir  Andrew 
H.  L.  Fraser,  K.C.S.I. 

5 Between  the  Twilights— Cornelia  Sorabji. 


Introduction 


l7 


to  visit  the  Princess  Mary  Victoria  Gymkhana  in 
Bombay  and  meet  Parsi,  Mohammedan  and 
Hindu  women  playing  croquet  and  Badminton, 
or  having  tea  with  their  friends,  and  even  enter- 
taining men  of  their  acquaintance  twice  a year. 
It  is  true  that  Parsi  influence  marks  off  the  social 
life  of  Bombay  from  that  of  more  conservative 
India,  but  the  Bombay  women  do  not  always 
remain  in  Bombay.  Some  of  the  societies  are 
linked  with  the  various  religious  movements, 
others  are  purely  social  and  educational.  One 
society,  the  Bharat  Stri  Mahamandal,  in  the 
United  Provinces  and  in  Bengal,  has  been 
founded  by  Hindu  and  Moslem  women,  but  is 
intended  to  include  all  sympathizers.  Its  aim 
is  “to  form  a common  centre  for  all  women 
thinkers  and  co-workers  of  every  race,  creed, 
class,  and  party  in  India  to  associate  themselves 
together  for  the  progress  of  humanity.”  6 Another, 
the  Gujerati  Stri  Mandat,  in  Bombay,  is  a purely 
Hindu  society,  which  aims  at  bringing  many 
of  the  Gujerati  women,  who  keep  par  da,  into 
contact  with  other  women,  and  has  a definite 
if  somewhat  ambitious  educational  programme. 
The  Seva  Sadan,  or  Sisters  Ministrant,  a society 
established  in  Bombay  in  1909,  with  four  branches, 
is  under  a united  committee  of  Hindu,  Moham- 
medan, and  Parsi  representatives,  and  aims  at 
philanthropic  and  educational  work.  “ In  the 
name  of  Him,  Who  has  given  us  so  many  bene- 

6 Women  in  the  Modern  National  Movements  of  the 
East  (S.C.M.  Pamphlet),  by  A.  de  Selincourt. 

B 


1 8 Education  of  Women  of  India 

dictions,  we  call  upon  every  woman  to  become  a 
Benediction,  and  we  call  upon  all  who  realize 
that  India’s  two  great  sins  are  her  sin  against 
women  and  her  sin  against  the  depressed, 
to  help  us  in  creating  Sisters  Ministrant.” 7 
The  vow  which  these  Sisters  Ministrant  are 
called  upon  to  take,  is  to  “ look  upon  life  as  a 
sacred  trust  for  loving,  self-sacrificing  service, 
and  to  do  such  service.  So  help  me  God.”  It 
is  true  that  when  the  high  idealism  of  this  pro- 
spectus and  report  are  compared  with  actual  fact, 
there  is  evident  a certain  lack  of  reality,  character- 
istic of  many  Indian  schemes.  Still,  good  work, 
not  unlike  that  of  a London  Settlement,  is  being 
actually  done  by  two  splendid  women  at  the 
society’s  Settlement  in  Bombay,  and  idealism 
never  fails  of  its  ultimate  fruit. 

No  account  of  the  corporate  life  of  Indian 
women  would  be  complete  without  mention  of 
the  National  Indian  Association,  which,  though 
organized  from  London,  has  many  Indian  ladies 
as  secretaries  or  committee  members  of  its  Ladies’ 
Branches  in  India.  Amongst  its  many  activities 
one  of  the  most  effective  has  been  the  holding 
of  par  da  lectures  and  other  gatherings  for  the 
encouragement  of  education,  and  scholarships 
are  also  awarded  through  it  to  suitable  candidates. 
Apart  from  all  organization,  the  par  da  party, 
pure  and  simple,  whether  given  by  the  wives  of 
Government  officials,  or  by  private  individuals, 
has  its  own  part  to  play.  The  honour  of  holding 
Seva  Sadan  Report. 


Introduction 


l9 


the  first  of  these,  as  a species  of  feminine  durbar, 
belongs  probably  to  Lady  Amherst.8  At  the 
request  of  the  famous  Baiza  Pai,  wife  of  the 
Maharaj  of  Scindhia,  she  received  a deputation  of 
Maratha  ladies  at  Agra  in  1827,  and  the  account 
translated  from  a Persian  letter  by  one  of  the 
guests  reveals  the  quaint  misconception  of  all 
things  Western  under  which  the  deputation 
laboured.  The  number  of  Lord  Amherst’s  sup- 
posed wives,  the  English  “ nautch  girls,”  who 
played  the  table  with  the  ivory  teeth,  the  strange 
attitude  of  the  English  ladies,  reveal  a world  far 
apart,  and  though  the  modern  fiarda  party  may 
not  be  needed  to-day  to  dispel  such  extreme 
delusions,  it  is  still  a meeting  ground  for  worlds 
far  apart,  and  the  source  of  many  new  ideas  to 
both  English  and  Indian  ladies.  These  gatherings 
and  societies  have  an  extraordinary  influence 
especially  on  those  who  have  fought  shy  of  the 
proffered  friendship  of  the  missionaries,  or  of 
Government  educational  effort,  and  they  certainly 
count  for  much  in  the  breaking  down  of  artificial 
barriers  to  progress. 

The  “ secluded  ones  ” of  the  real  India  have  no 
corporate  life  and  belong  to  no  society  save  that 
of  the  family.  The  unit  of  Indian  civilization 
is  the  family,  and  where  that  word  includes  the 
joint-family  to  remote  degrees,  one  may  perhaps 
faintly  understand  what  the  corporate  influence  of 
the  women  of  the  household  means,  and  measure 
it  against  the  impotence  of  a mere  society. 

8 Euler  of  India  Series — Lord  Amherst. 


20  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Such  in  all  its  variety  is  the  diverse  life  of  the 
women  of  India  to-day,  the  meeting-place  of  two 
civilizations,  and  fraught  with  untold  consequences 
and  influences  for  the  future.  Hitherto  the  weight 
of  woman’s  opinion  has  been  conservative  and 
religious.  “ A combination  of  enforced  ignorance 
and  overdone  religion  have  not  only  made  women 
in  India  willing  victims  of  customs  unjust  and 
hurtful  in  the  highest  degree,  but  it  has  also  made 
them  the  most  formidable  because  the  most  effec- 
tive opponents  of  all  change  or  innovation.”  9 But 
signs  have  not  been  wanting  to  show  that  this 
same  influence  has  been  inflammatory  of  revolu- 
tion and  sedition,  and  instances  are  given,  by  a 
recent  writer,  of  ladies’  meetings  in  which 
sympathy  was  extended  even  to  anarchists  who 
had  been  guilty  of  murder,  and  in  which  ladies 
gathered  together  in  zenanas  were  urged  to  do 
all  they  could  to  advance  a mischievous  pro- 
paganda.10 True,  this  kind  of  influence  is  not 
widespread,  but  it  is  a natural  result  when  im- 
pressionable characters  are  brought  into  contact 
with  ideas  which  they  have  not  the  knowledge 
nor  opportunity  of  weighing  aright.  There  is 
the  farther  risk  of  recoil  from  enforced  restraint 
towards  the  liberty  which  is  not  a law  unto  itself. 
The  slavish  imitation  of  the  West  which  has 
marred  much  of  the  modern  movement  in  the 

9 Speech  at  the  Education  Congress,  1897 — G.  K. 
Gokhale. 

10  Among  Indian  Rajahs  and  Ryots — Sir  A.  H.  L. 
Fraser,  K.C.S.I. 


Introduction 


21 


past  and  from  which  the  Swadeshi  of  to-day 
is  a reaction,  is -even  more  repellent  in  the  life  of 
women  than  of  men,  and  the  Indian  world  would 
lose  much  of  its  fascination  and  charm  if  instead 
of  a rehabilitation  of  the  ancient  ideals  of  woman- 
hood the  modern  type  were  to  develop  merely  as 
a denationalized  caricature.  The  classic  Indian 
ideal  of  womanhood,  with  its  wonderful  vicarious 
suffering,  its  selflessness  and  devotion,  is  enough 
to  make  the  world  weep,  yet  it  may  be  that  it 
has  proved  throughout  the  centuries  one  of  the 
subtlest  temptations  to  the  strong.  “ It  is  a 
terrible  thing,”  writes  Sister  Nivedita,  who  made 
the  Hindu  woman’s  life  her  own  ; “ it  dwarfs 
the  wife.  I often  think  that  it  would  be  good  for 
the  husbands  themselves  if  their  wives  were  less 
soft  and  good.”  But  the  glory  and  the  grace 
of  it  may  live,  and  its  gentle  womanliness  trans- 
figure modern  life.  The  Indian  woman  need 
lose  none  of  those  qualities  which  made  her  loved 
in  Vedic  times,  but  may  prove  to  the  world  that 
she  is  conscious  of  her  own  heritage  and  capable 
of  choosing  only  what  is  good  from  the  life  of  the 
West. 

History  is  made  quietly,  and  the  modern 
movement  for  the  education  of  the  women  of 
India  and  its  guidance  along  right  lines  is  a 
matter  of  Imperial  importance.  On  education 
of  some  sort  they  will  insist.  The  latest  Quin- 
quennial Report  (1907)  shows  an  increase  in  the 
period  of  over  45  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of 
girls  at  school,  and  since  then  some  districts  show 


22  Education  of  Women  of  India 


even  more.11  The  emphasis  at  present  laid  on 
girls’  schools  is  in  part  the  result  of  the  general 
educational  ferment  in  India.  One  hundred 
years  have  elapsed  since  Lord  Minto  wrote  his 
famous  letter  to  the  Directors  of  the  East  India 
Company,  animadverting  on  the  decay  of  Hindu 
and  Mohammedan  science  and  learning ; this 
letter  was  followed  two  years  later  by  the  decision 
to  spend  a lac  of  rupees  anually  for  educational 
purposes,  a paltry  sum  in  comparison  with  the 
Government’s  educational  outlay  to-day,  yet 
representing  the  inauguration  of  a new  policy. 
The  great  principles  of  the  systematic  introduction 
of  Western  learning,  with  the  English  language 
as  a medium  of  instruction  in  the  higher  stages  ; 
of  the  possession  of  English  education  as  the 
criterion  for  Government  service  ; of  the  direct 
responsibility  of  the  State  for  secular  instruction 
only,  together  with  the  encouragement  of  voluntary 
effort  on  other  lines  by  a policy  of  grants-in-aid, 
have  borne  fruit  far  beyond  the  imagination  of 
those  who  laid  them  down  in  the  early  half  of 
last  century.  A vast  system  has  grown  up  : 
five  Universities  with  magnificent  Government 
and  missionary  colleges,  a network  of  Primary 
and  Secondary  schools  both  in  British  territory 
and  the  Native  States,  an  Educational  Depart- 
ment in  every  province  under  a Director  of 
Public  Instruction,  centralized  till  recently  under 
a Director-General,  an  expenditure  in  1907 
of  public  funds  amounting  to  559  lacs,  and, 
11  Cp.  Diagram,  Appendix  C. 


Introduction 


23 


along  with  all  this,  to-day,  a grave  criticism, 
representing  various  shades  of  political  and 
religious  opinion,  of  the  work  done,  with  a 
questioning  of  its  beneficial  influence  and  of  the 
fundamental  principles  involved.  Good  results 
there  certainly  have  been,  but  there  is  a tendency 
to-day  to  emphasize  the  weak  points  in  the 
system  rather  than  to  lay  stress  on  the  actual 
good  done,  as  always  happens  in  a world  bent 
on  reform.  The  main  points  of  the  indictment 
brought  against  the  system  by  current  journalism 
are  briefly  these : an  educated  minority  has 
been  created,  while  only  28.7  per  cent,  of  the 
present  generation  of  boys  are  at  school ; the  ranks 
of  the  lower  Government  services  are  overcrowded, 
and  disappointed  candidates  turn  only  too  readily 
to  sedition ; the  Code  tends  to  an  abnormal 
development  of  the  repetitive  faculty  ; intellect 
is  emphasized  at  the  expense  of  character  ; the 
whole  tendency  is  to  take  away  from  the  Indian 
child  his  own  historical  heritage  of  thought  and 
feeling.  The  Government  is  now  devoting 
careful  attention  to  the  whole  problem  in  its 
relation  to  the  general  political  situation.  In 
January  1911,  a new  Central  Department  of 
Education  was  formed,  with  a representative 
on  the  Governor-General’s  Council.  Under  its 
auspices  a special  Conference  of  the  higher  educa- 
tional officials  and  others  was  recently  held  at 
Allahabad  to  discuss  outlines  of  future  policy, 
with  special  emphasis  on  the  burning  topics 
of  Primary  education  and  moral  teaching.  Lord 


24  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Hardinge  personally  visited  incognito  some  of 
the  students’  “ Messes  ” 12  in  Calcutta  to  see  the 
facts  with  his  own  eyes.  The  boon  granted  at 
the  Durbar  includes  an  additional  expenditure 
of  fifty  lacs  of  rupees  for  educational  purposes. 

Apart  from  Government  there  is  an  expression 
in  Indian  circles  of  the  sense  of  crisis,  and  of  the 
need  for  the  extension  of  popular  education. 
Though  doubtless  engineered  by  a minority,  still 
it  is  not  without  value.  The  Indian  National 
Congress  and  the  All-Indian  Moslem  League 
have  passed  resolutions  in  favour  of  compulsory 
Primary  education  which  show  some  sense  of 
what  education  really  means.  “ Its  universal 
diffusion  is  a matter  of  primary  importance,  for 
literacy  is  better  than  illiteracy ; education  is 
something  more  than  the  mere  capacity  to  read 
and  write.  It  means  a keener  enjoyment  of  life 
and  a more  refined  standard  of  living.  It  means 
the  greater  moral  and  economic  efficiency  of  the 
individual.”  In  March  1911,  Mr  Gokhale  intro- 
duced his  Bill  for  Compulsory  Primary  Education 
to  the  Governor-General’s  Council,  and  thereby 
awakened  discussion  throughout  the  country. 
Idealistic  it  certainly  is,  when  the  dearth  of 
trained  teachers  is  considered  and  the  conser- 
vatism of  the  real  India  taken  into  account,  but 
it  marks  the  trend  of  a certain  section  of  Indian 
opinion.  There  is,  moreover,  a movement  on 
the  part  of  others  for  the  establishment  of 
Mohammedan  and  Hindu  Universities,  as  a 
12  Lodgings. 


Introduction  25 

reaction  from  the  secularism  of  the  Government 
institutions. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  analyse 
such  criticism  but  merely  to  show  its  relation 
to  the  problem  of  women’s  education.  To  some 
thinkers  the  most  fundamental  flaw  in  the  whole 
system  has  seemed  the  development  of  one-half 
of  the  community  far  beyond  that  of  the  other. 
In  spite  of  recent  progress  the  literate  percentage 
is  10.50  for  men,  and  only  10.4  for  women;13 
the  removal  of  this  discrepancy  might  mean  the 
raising  of  the  whole  of  social  life  and  go  far  towards 
the  solution  of  other  problems.  Hence  in  every 
district  there  are  ardent  advocates  of  female 
education.  “ A realization  of  the  necessity  for 
an  educated  and  emancipated  womanhood  is 
now  no  longer  confined  to  those  sections  of  the 
community  which  are  directly  influenced  by 
Christianity,  but  is  laying  hold  of  Eastern  nations 
as  a whole.”  14  Hardly  a Congress  or  debating 
society  exists  which  does  not  pass  resolutions 
thereon,  hardly  an  Indian  journal  which  does 
not  emphasize  the  importance  of  the  feminine 
factor.  “ Upon  the  condition  of  women  depends 
the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  homes.  Upon 
their  fitness  will  hinge  the  evolution  of  our 
character.  The  schools  and  universities  may 
make  us  highly  intellectual,  but  as  for  character 

13  1911  Census  Returns.  In  1901,  9.8  per  cent,  men, 
0.07  per  cent,  women. 

14  Women  in  the  Modern  National  Movements  of  the 
East  (S.C.M.  Pamphlet,  1912),  A.  de  Selincourt. 


26  Education  of  Women  of  India 

we  must  look  to  the  home  and  the  home  alone. 
Let  us  frankly  say  to  the  Indian  girl  : ‘ Here, 
child  of  God,  take  this  key  to  the  portals  of  know- 
ledge : it  belongs  to  you  by  right  of  birth.  Enter 
then  fearlessly  and  behold  the  beauty  and  the 
joys  it  reveals.’  ”15  There  is  nothing  more  striking 
than  the  emphasis  which  is  laid  in  these  articles 
on  the  sanction  found  in  the  Vedic  classics  for 
the  education  of  women  and  on  the  modern 
movement  as  a renaissance,  and  not  an  overthrow 
of  ancient  Aryan  ideas.  The  Mohammedan  case 
is  a more  difficult  one  to  prove,  but  there  are 
writers,  such  as  Ameer  Ali,  strongly  influenced  by 
the  Christian  ideas  of  the  West,  who  attempt  it 
in  spite  of  the  Koran.16  There  is  the  even  bolder 
spirit  of  those  who  hold  that  “ though  all  the 
sacred  mantras  17  were  against  it,”  the  education 
of  her  women  is  the  only  solution  of  India’s 
problem.  The  slow  infiltration  of  the  Christian 
ideal  of  woman  has  had  its  effect  and  the  influence 
of  missionary  educational  work  has  gained  an 
increased  momentum  by  the  change  in  the  Indian 
attitude.  True,  the  conservative  influence  is 
still  there  with  much  of  the  old  strength,  as  will 
be  indicated  in  succeeding  chapters,  not  only 
amongst  the  orthodox  but  amongst  the  more 
advanced.  An  Indian  Reform  Journal  can  still 

16  Vedic  Quarterly,  1911. 

16  Koran  Sura  IV.  (Rodwefl’s  edition,  Sura,  C.). 

17  A secret  phrase  or  password  used  for  initiation 
into  Hindu  sects.  Cp.  Primer  of  Hinduism — J.  N. 
Farquhar  (C.L.S.). 


Introduction 


27 


publish  an  advertisement  of  an  undergraduate 
who  desires  a wife  of  eleven  years,  educated  in 
Hindi  and  domestic  matters.  Such  are  the 
strange  anomalies  and  contradictions  of  a country 
which  defies  generalizations.  There  is,  however, 
abundant  evidence  to  show  that  we  have  arrived 
at  a highly  critical  period,  in  which  the  whole  may 
be  sacrificed  to  a part,  in  which,  through  lack  of 
considering  the  question  in  ah  its  bearings,  the 
mistakes  from  which  the  education  of  men  in 
India  has  not  been  wholly  free  may  be  repeated 
and  intensified  in  the  case  of  the  women,  and  in 
which  the  opportunity  of  developing  a national 
system  in  line  with  modern  educational  science 
may  be  lost. 

The  present  volume  is  an  attempt  to  sift  this 
evidence  in  the  different  localities  visited,  and  to 
give,  in  so  far  as  is  possible  to  a writer  who  has 
no  expert  knowledge  of  Indian  problems,  an 
accurate  description  of  the  conditions  of  girls’ 
education,  and  of  the  three  contributing  factors, 
the  Government,  the  missionary,  and  spontaneous 
Indian  effort.  Where  other  localities  have  been 
treated  the  intention  has  been  to  show  that  the 
same  factors  and,  to  a certain  extent,  the  same 
problems  prevail.  The  survey  is  in  no  sense 
exhaustive  ; the  State  of  Bhopal,  which  doubtless 
presents  many  interesting  features,  is  not  included. 
The  great  districts  of  South  India  and  the  Madras 
Presidency,  where  women’s  education  is  well 
developed,  have  unfortunately  had  to  be  omitted, 
and  any  generalization  made  must  be  taken  with 


28  Education  of  Women  of  India 

this  reserve.  The  geographical  division  has  been 
adopted,  not  because  the  same  problems  do  not 
to  a certain  extent  repeat  themselves  but  because 
of  the  varying  environment  in  which  they  are 
cast  through  diverse  religious  and  social  influences. 
A brief  historical  survey  is  included  to  indicate 
the  general  situation  as  well  as  certain  outstand- 
ing features  which  are  present  throughout  the 
whole  country.  No  constructive  theory  is  offered, 
but  the  need  of  such  in  relation  to  the  moving 
life  of  the  East  and  the  impact  of  Christianity 
upon  it  is  made  apparent. 

The  moral  and  religious  problem  lies  at  the 
basis  of  all  education  and  is  at  the  present 
moment  that  most  acutely  felt  in  India.  A. 
system  perfected  in  every  technical  detail  and 
embracing  the  whole  country  would  prove  a 
disintegrating  and  disastrous  force  if  it  lacked 
the  religious  basis  for  the  training  of  character. 
Yet  its  provision  through  the  highest  revelation 
of  religion  is  fraught  with  immense  difficulty  in 
a country  of  diverse  and  conflicting  faiths.  A 
secular  policy  for  the  education  of  boys  has 
already  produced  its  fruits,  and  may  serve  as  a 
warning  in  the  new  feminine  problem.  In  a 
final  chapter  this  question  is  touched  upon  in  its 
relation  to  the  ultimate  Christianization  of  Indian 
thought  and  life. 


II 


HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

“We  have  now  before  us  in  that  vast  congeries  of 
people  we  call  India,  a long  slow  march  in  uneven 
stages  through  all  the  centuries  from  the  fifth  to  the 
twentieth.” 

THE  history  of  the  education  of  women  in 
India  must  keep  in  view  the  three  con- 
flicting ideals  of  womanhood  which  have 
dominated  Indian  society  at  different  epochs. 
These  are  the  Vedic,  the  Moslem,  and  the  Christian 
or  Western.  While  our  main  concern  is  with 
the  last,  a brief  glance  into  the  early  ages  is 
necessary  for  a full  comprehension  of  the  con- 
flicting currents  found  in  the  modern  epoch. 
In  the  early  Vedic  times  women  apparently 
enjoyed  an  equal  status  with  men.  There  was 
no  child  marriage,  no  seclusion  in  the  zenana, 
no  sati,  no  prohibition  of  the  remarriage  of  widows. 
Ladies  of  culture  composed  hymns  and  per- 
formed sacrifices  as  men  did.  Some  even  re- 
mained unmarried  and  had  their  share  of  the 
paternal  property.  There  are  many  passages 
in  the  Brahmanas  which  show  the  high  esteem 


29 


30  Education  of  Women  of  India 

in  which  women  were  held.  Garga  Vachaknavi, 
a learned  lady,  is  mentioned  as  taking  active 
part  in  a great  assembly  of  learned  men  summoned 
by  Janaka,  King  of  the  Videhas,  to  decide  which 
of  them  would  prove  the  wisest.  There  is  a 
celebrated  conversation  between  Yajnavalkya 
and  his  learned  wife  Maitreyi  on  the  possible 
comprehension  of  the  infinite  by  the  finite.1 
“ One  poem,  the  Bhagwan  Manu,  prescribes  a 
positive  punishment  for  parents  who  keep  away 
from  school  their  boys  after  five  and  their  girls 
after  ten  years  of  their  respective  ages.”  2 It 
would  appear,  in  fact,  that  girls  had  some  share 
in  whatever  education  was  available. 

From  about  the  fifth  century  b.c.  in  successive 
Hindu  codes  we  find  limiting  laws,  many  of 
which  were  embodied  about  a.d.  200  in  the 
Code  of  Manu.  Their  stringency  is  only  weakened 
by  a general  recommendation  that  men  “ who 
seek  their  own  welfare  should  always  honour 
women  on  holidays  and  festivals  with  gifts  of 
ornaments,  clothes,  and  dainty  food.”  The 
possibility  of  education  was  closed  by  the 
exclusion  of  girls  from  the  initiatory  caste  rites, 
which  served  as  a prelude  to  the  education  of 
boys. 

“ The  nuptial  ceremony  is  stated  to  be  the 
Vedic  sacrament  for  women  and  to  be  equal  to 
the  initiation,  serving  the  husband  equivalent 
to  the  residence  in  the  house  of  the  teacher,  and 

1 Cf.  Ancient  India.  R.  C.  Dutt. 

2 Vedic  Quarterly,  1911. 


Historical  Survey  31 

the  household  duties  the  same  as  the  daily  worship 
of  the  sacred  fire.”  3 

"For  women  no  sacramental  rite  is  performed 
with  sacred  texts,  thus  the  law  is  settled  ; women 
who  are  destitute  of  strength  and  destitute  of 
the  knowledge  of  Vedic  texts  are  as  impure  as 
falsehood  itself,  that  is  a fixed  rule.”  4 

Fixed  rules  and  settled  laws  do  not  always 
remain  so  where  women  are  concerned,  and  there 
is  considerable  evidence  that  the  women  of  the 
upper  classes  could  often  read  and  write,  and, 
though  the  perusal  of  the  sacred  literature  was 
denied,  they  certainly  read  and  memorized  the 
great  popular  epics,  the  Ramayana  and  the 
Mahabharata,  which  embody  many  Indian 
traditions  and  ideals.  In  the  Ajanta  caves, 
which  cover  a period  from  the  second  to  the 
seventh  century  a.d.,  women  are  represented  as 
engaged  in  study  with  books  of  palm  leaves. 
Elsewhere  they  are  referred  to  as  musicians  and 
artists.  In  the  dramas  of  Kalidasa  about  the 
fifth  century  the  inevitable  jest  at  the  expense 
of  learned  women  is  current  coin.  The  comic 
character  says  he  must  always  laugh  when  he 
hears  a woman  read  Sanskrit  or  a man  sing  a 
song.5  Amongst  the  Rajputs,  where  status  was 
determined  by  courage  not  literacy,  the  women 
held  a high  position.  In  the  early  days  of  the 

3 Manu,  ii.  67.  S.B.E.  The  Vedic  Sacrament  had  for 
its  object  the  study  of  Vedic  texts. 

4 Manu,  ix.  18.  S.B.E. 

5 India  through  the  Ages.  F.  A.  Steele. 


32  Education  of  Women  of  India 

nineteenth  century  the  records  of  these  early 
periods  were  carefully  searched  by  Indian  en- 
thusiasts to  produce  evidence  of  former  literary 
achievements  as  an  argument  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  Western  education.  A lecture  by  Pyari 
Chand  Mittra,  a Government  schoolmaster,  offers 
an  interesting  list  headed  by  the  famous  Lilavati, 
after  whom  a mathematical  treatise  of  the  ninth 
century  is  named.  Either  she  was  the  authoress 
thereof,6  or  it  was  specially  composed  for  her 
perusal.  “ Besides  Lilavati  there  were  many 
females  of  literary  and  scientific  attainments. 
The  Tamils  boast  of  having  possessed  four  female 
philosophers  : viz.  Avyar  and  her  three  sisters. 
Avyar  was  the  daughter  of  one  Bhaguvan,  a 
Brahman,  and  outshone  all  her  brothers  and 
sisters  in  learning.  ‘ She  was  contemporary  with 
Kumbur,  the  author  of  the  Tamil  Ramayana, 
and  she  employed  her  eloquent  pen  on  various 
subjects,  such  as  astronomy,  medicine,  and 
geography ; her  works  of  the  latter  description 
are  much  admired.  Avyar  remained  a virgin  all 
her  life,  and  died  much  admired  for  her  talents 
in  poetry,  arts,  and  sciences.’  I am  given  to 
understand  by  an  intelligent  Hindu  gentleman, 
that  he  knew  of  one  Hatta  Vidyalancar,  a female 
scholar  at  Benares,  who  was  versed  in  Smriti 7 and 
Nyaya.  We  also  hear  of  the  literary  proficiency 
of  the  wives  of  Kalidasa  and  Kornut,  Raja  of 
Khona,  the  latter  was  conversant  with  astronomy 
and  is  well  known  by  the  sayings  she  has  left 
c India  through  the  Ages.  F.  A.  Steele. 

7 Smriti  = tradition  (of  philosophy). 


33 


Historical  Survey 

behind ; of  Gargu,  the  wife  of  Yagnya  Valkya, 
who  is  said  to  have  possessed  a good  knowledge 
of  Yog  8 Shastra.” 9 

With  the  Moslem  conquests  came  the  parda 
system  with  its  withering  influence.  Devised 
by  Mohammed,  according  to  modern  Moslem 
historians,  for  the  protection  of  women  in  wild 
and  lawless  times,  it  has  inculcated  distrust  of 
their  character  and  capacities.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  many  Indian  women  to-day  look  upon 
the  parda  as  a sign  of  prestige  and  of  their  value 
in  their  husbands’  eyes,  the  thoughtful  observer 
must  reckon  it,  in  its  ultimate  social  influence,  as 
a symbol  of  distrust.  “ A man  both  night  and 
day  must  keep  his  wife  so  much  in  subjection  that 
she  by  no  means  be  mistress  of  her  own  actions  ; 
if  the  wife  have  her  own  free  will,  notwithstanding 
she  be  sprung  of  a superior  caste,  she  will  yet 
behave  amiss  ” runs  a later  Hindu  code,  coupling 
this  statement  with  minute  regulations  as  to 
doors  and  windows.  Isolated  Indian  women, 
both  Hindu,  and  Moslem  are  prominent  in  later 
times,  but  they  by  no  means  represent  the 
common  life.  Their  chronicle  is  written  because 
in  some  way  or  other  they  have  been  exceptional. 
In  the  thirteenth  century  it  is  said  of  Razia  Begum, 
the  only  woman  ruler  in  her  own  right  of  Moslem 
India,  that  the  severest  scrutiny  of  her  actions 
could  reveal  no  fault  save  that  she  was  a woman.10 

8 System  of  philosophy. 

9 Calcutta  Review,  September  1855. 

10  India  through  the  Ages.  F.  A.  Steele. 

C 


34  Education  of  Women  of  India 

The  Calcutta  School  Society  ascertained  in 
1818  that  no  provision  of  any  kind  existed  for  the 
education  of  women,  and  an  attempted  estimate 
of  their  general  literacy  places  the  figure  at  one 
in  a hundred  thousand.  The  old  ideal  had  so 
utterly  vanished,  that  it  needed  the  touch  of 
Western  civilization  to  revive  even  the  concep- 
tion of  its  former  existence.  This  existence, 
shadowy  and  faint  though  it  may  appear  in  our 
eyes,  is  an  enormous  asset  to  the  new  movement 
in  a country  where  everything  Aryan  and  Vedic 
counts  for  much  in  the  endeavour  to  create  a 
national  consciousness. 

The  modern  epoch  is  thus  in  part  a Renais- 
sance, in  part  the  introduction  once  more  of  the 
ideal  of  another  faith.  It  will  occupy  our  atten- 
tion in  detail  and  falls  naturally  into  three  periods. 
The  first  dates  from  1819,  when  the  Baptist 
Mission  in  Calcutta  started  its  first  school  for 
girls  11  till  1854,  during  which  time  the  influence 
was  almost  entirely  that  of  the  women  mission- 
aries ; the  second,  from  the  famous  Educational 
Despatch  of  1854  till  1884,  is  characterized  by 
the  Government  policy  of  “ grants-in-aid  ” to 
voluntary  associations,  by  the  first  tentative 
beginnings  of  direct  Government  effort,  and  by 
the  expansion  of  Secondary  education  under 
missionary  auspices ; in  the  modem  period 
dating  from  the  presentation  of  the  report  of  Sir 
William  Hunter’s  Commission  in  1884,  the 
Government  share  in  girls’  education  is  much 
11  History  of  Missions  in  India.  J.  Richter. 


35 


Historical  Survey 

more  direct,  the  spontaneous  Indian  element 
enters  more  strongly,  and  for  the  first  time  the 
question  of  a differentiation  in  the  curriculum 
arises. 

The  first  period  is  essentially  the  day  of  small 
things.  The  Danish  missionaries  of  the  eighteenth 
century  had  included  girls  in  their  schools  but 
there  is  little  record  of  their  doings,  and  the 
schools  organized  by  Miss  Cook  in  Calcutta  (1821) 
and  Mrs  Wilson  in  Bombay  (1829)  were  in  every 
sense  pioneer  work.  Elsewhere  is  to  be  found 
the  full  story  of  opposition,  of  fluctuating  desire, 
of  tactful  consideration  and  of  careful  enlistment 
of  enlightened  Hindu  men,  who  had  been  touched 
by  Dr  Duff’s  educational  work,  as  advocates  of 
the  cause.  The  same  discrepancy  between  theory 
and  practice  which  marks  the  advocacy  of  some  of 
the  Indian  social  reformers  of  to-day  existed  then, 
and  the  movement  was  by  no  means  an  extensive 
one.  By  1840,  Miss  Cook  (now  Mrs  Wilson)  records 
about  500  girls  at  school  in  Bengal  of  whom  half 
were  in  her  own  school.  Dr  Duff  in  outlining  a 
missionary  and  educational  policy  for  India, 
points  to  the  need  of  a great  development  of  the 
education  of  men  before  that  of  women  could 
possibly  follow.  “ The  education  ” of  the  latter 
“ on  any  great  national  scale  must,  from  the  very 
nature  of  their  position,  which  those  only  who 
have  been  in  India  can  at  all  adequately  com- 
prehend, follow  in  the  wake  of  the  enlightened 
education  ” of  the  former.12  Events  have  justified 
12  Biography  of  Alexander  Duff.  George  Smith. 


36  Education  of  Women  of  India 

this  prediction  and  in  many  senses  it  is  true  that 
the  present  state  of  women’s  education  in  India 
corresponds  to  that  of  the  men  in  1854.  The 
education  given  by  the  women  missionaries  con- 
sisted of  such  mere  rudiments  as  were  possible 
under  the  conditions  and  for  the  short  period 
during  which  their  pupils  were  available.  Simple 
instruction  in  the  Scriptures  was  also  given. 
Madras  and  other  centres  followed  slowly  on  the 
same  lines.  The  work  was  in  part  linked  with 
the  ordinary  mission  work  of  the  Churches  and 
in  part  carried  on  through  separate  women’s 
societies  founded  for  the  purpose  in  Germany 
and  in  Scotland.  At  first  the  Government  atti- 
tude was  distinctly  negative,  except  for  the 
cordial  personal  assistance  given  by  Lady  Hastings 
to  Miss  Cook,  and  the  more  nominal  support  of 
her  successor  Lady  Amherst.  In  1849,  however, 
Lord  Dalhousie  informed  the  Bengal  Council  of 
Education  that  henceforth  its  functions  were  to 
include  female  education,  and  the  Bethune 
School  which  had  been  privately  founded  by  a 
legal  member  of  Council,  the  Hon.  Drinkwater 
Bethune,  was  brought  under  the  control  of  the 
Government.  In  the  Bombay  Presidency  things 
developed  more  rapidly  and  the  Parsi  influence 
asserted  itself  in  independent  effort.  The  first 
municipal  schools  for  girls  were  probably  started 
in  1850  at  Ahmedabad.  In  1852  a second 
stage  of  missionary  education  was  reached 
by  the  establishment  in  Calcutta  of  a Normal 
School  for  the  training  of  Christian  female 


37 


Historical  Survey 

teachers  under  the  auspices  of  the  society 
known  later  as  the  Zenana  Bible  and  Medical 
Mission.  The  special  method  adapted  to  Indian 
conditions  was  not  discovered  till  1854,  when 
the  system  of  zenana-visiting,  combined  with 
educational  instruction,  was  inaugurated  in 
Calcutta  by  the  Scottish  Mission  with  the  help 
of  a clever  Eurasian  lady,  Miss  Toogood. 

By  the  great  educational  charter  of  1854,  the 
Government  adopted  the  policy  of  fostering  and 
encouraging  private  effort  by  a system  of  grants- 
in-aid  to  all  institutions  which  could  comply  with 
certain  stipulations  as  to  buildings,  number  of 
teachers,  text-books  and  type  of  instruction 
given.  Religious  instruction  might  be  given  but 
did  not  come  within  the  purview  of  the  Govern- 
ment officials.  Departments  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion were  formed,  Inspectors  appointed,  and  the 
well  known  scheme  of  examinations  inaugurated. 
It  is  stated  in  the  Despatch  that  female  education 
shall  be  given  “ frank  and  cordial  support.” 
“ The  importance  of  female  education  in  India 
cannot  be  over-rated,  and  we  have  observed  with 
pleasure  the  evidence  which  is  now  afforded  of 
an  increased  desire  on  the  part  of  many  of  the 
natives  of  India  to  give  a good  education  to  their 
daughters.  By  these  means  a far  greater  pro- 
portional impulse  is  imparted  to  the  educational 
and  moral  tone  of  the  people  than  by  the  educa- 
tion of  men.”  In  the  main  the  Government 
adhered  to  this  principle,  yet  considered  it 
prudent  to  withhold  its  hand  from  direct  inter- 


38  Education  of  Women  of  India 

ference  with  so  delicate  a matter.  Whereas,  in 
order  to  improve  the  school  system  as  a whole, 
Government  erected  boys’  schools  in  many  places, 
to  serve  as  models  in  management  and  efficiency, 
very  few  girls’  schools  were  founded.  The 
Circular  order  of  1868,  issued  under  Lord 
Lawrence,  states  that  “ unless  female  schools  are 
really  and  materially  supported  by  voluntary 
aid,  they  had  better  not  be  established  at  all.” 
In  pursuance  of  this  policy  the  Bengal  Adminis- 
tration Report  for  1881  notes  only  two  Govern- 
ment Primary  schools  for  girls,  719  aided,  and  107 
unaided  voluntary  schools.  The  women’s  mis- 
sionary agencies  in  Calcutta  were  drawing  a 
monthly  grant  of  two  thousand  rupees  for 
educational  work.  An  Inspectress13  was  at  this 
time  in  the  service  of  the  local  education  authority 
for  the  inspection  of  ftarda  schools.  Her  note 
that  “ every  day  brings  signs  that  the  demand 
for  female  education  in  Bengal  is  slowly  advancing 
and  extending  ” marks  the  rising  tide.  Two 
exceptions  may  be  noted  to  this  policy ; the 
exceptional  activity  in  the  district  of  the  North 
Western  Provinces  (as  they  were  then  called) 
round  Agra,  and  the  movement  of  the  Central 
Government  under  the  influence  of  Miss 
Carpenter. 

The  Agra  experiment  was,  however,  the 
response  of  Government  to  spontaneous  Indian 
effort,  and  as  the  work  of  the  Hindu  pioneer  who 

13  Appointed  to  the  Subordinate  Educational  Service 
in  1876.  India  Office  Note. 


Historical  Survey  39 

was  its  originator  is  little  known,  the  following 
account  may  be  quoted.14 

“ Even  in  our  Asiatic  Provinces,  before  the 
breaking  out  of  the  troubles,  a desire  had  sprung 
up  among  the  natives  to  extend  the  blessings  of 
education  to  women.  Gopal  Singh,  a Hindu 
gentleman,  holding  under  Government  the  post 
of  district  Inspector  of  native  schools,  had  suc- 
ceeded, through  his  own  exertions,  in  establishing 
upwards  of  two  hundred  seminaries  for  young 
ladies  in  the  Province  of  Agra  which  were  attended 
by  3800  girls  of  the  best  families.  By  many  of 
our  countrymen  in  India,  this  is  regarded  rather 
as  a social  revolution  than  as  an  educational 
movement.  As  a rule,  the  natives  look  with 
suspicion  on  everything  which  comes  from  a 
foreigner,  for  which  reason  the  great  efforts  made 
by  the  English  have  not  produced  corresponding 
results.  ‘ The  establishment  of  a little  school,' 
observes  the  Pandit,  ‘ which  my  own  daughters 
and  those  of  my  immediate  friends  and  relations 
attended  at  first  like  a charm,  dispelled  in  a great 
measure  the  prejudices  of  my  neighbours,  and  in- 
duced many  to  send  their  girls  also.  This  example 
and  my  constant  persuasion  and  reasoning  have 
at  last  succeeded  in  inducing  many  respectable 
inhabitants  of  other  villages  to  yield.'  And  so  the 
movement  bids  fair  to  become  national.  The 
pupils  are  nearly  all  Hindus  belonging  to  the  more 
respectable  classes.  The  teachers  are  all  men.” 

14  Popular  Education  in  the  North  Western  Provinces. 
— Government  Report,  i860. 


40  Education  of  Women  of  India 

“ ‘ Want  of  female  teachers/  says  Gopal  Singh, 
' was  one  great  obstacle  in  the  way ; but  the 
guardians  of  the  girls  composing  the  respective 
schools  pointed  out  men  of  an  approved  character, 
in  whom  they  have  full  confidence,  and  I have 
appointed  such  persons  only  as  teachers  ; the 
result  is  very  satisfactory.’  ” 15  The  Government 
official  note  on  the  experiment  is  that  the  lack 
of  the  humanizing  influence  of  trained  school 
mistresses,  and  the  impossibility  of  supervising 
the  elderly  Pandits  were  the  real  causes  of  the 
failure  of  the  schools  and  not  the  Mutiny,  which 
hindered  the  general  development  of  education 
in  the  province  but  little.  Accordingly  the 
attempt  was  renewed  in  1858  by  one  of  the 
masters  of  the  Agra  College,  a Jat 16  of  good 
family,  in  co-operation  with  Government.  He 
succeeded  in  securing  “ school  mistresses  of  high 
caste  and  relatives  of  rich  and  influential  zemin- 
dars,” 17  and  by  1863,  when  he  was  appointed 
special  Inspector  of  female  schools,  their  number 
had  increased  to  144.  The  curriculum  seems 
to  have  been  somewhat  different  from  that  of  the 
boys’  schools,  and  the  Pandit  notes  with  satis- 
faction : “ Girls  are  possessed  of  better  memories 
and  less  selfishness  than  boys.”  The  success  and 
extent  of  the  movement  seems  however  to  have 
been  due  to  the  personal  influence  of  this  one  man, 
and  with  the  passing  of  his  generation  the  schools 

15  Popular  Education  in  the  North  Western  Provinces. 
— Government  Report,  i860. 

10  An  agricultural  caste. 


17  Landowners. 


4i 


Historical  Survey- 

degenerated  in  type.  The  rapid  extension  of 
this  work  under  Government  into  other  districts 
necessitated  the  employment  once  more  of  men 
teachers.  Four  female  Normal  schools  were 
established  which  appear  to  have  been  such  only 
in  name.  Two  British  Inspectresses  were 
appointed  whose  reports  indicate  the  same 
problems  as  those  of  a more  modern  date.  “ The 
villagers  are  not  opposed  to  the  schools  but  they 
value  them  chiefly  as  a means  of  support  for 
Brahmans  and  relatives.” 18  They  could  not 
believe  that  the  Government  were  in  earnest  on 
the  subject,  when  the  girls’  school  was  accom- 
modated in  a place  not  more  attractive  than  a 
cow-shed  and  the  boys’  in  a handsome  building. 
In  1876,  a drastic  reduction  of  212  schools  took 
place  and  the  question  of  female  education 
dropped  into  abeyance  for  a period.  The  official 
comment  thereon  was  that  the  State  had  incurred 
much  expense  in  founding  and  maintaining  these 
schools  and  that  the  results  had  been  painfully 
disappointing.  Historically,  the  experiment 
indicates  the  danger  of  extending  girls’  schools 
beyond  the  desire  of  the  community  and  beyond 
the  possibility  of  constant  supervision  on  the  part 
of  British  Inspectresses.  The  solution  of  the 
ever  present  problem  of  a supply  of  teachers  was 
only  a temporary  one,  and  the  failure  of  the 
Normal  schools  was  attributed  largely  to  the  lack 
of  a British  superintendent. 

The  influence  exerted  for  the  education  of 

18  North  Western  Provinces  Report  on  Education,  1875. 


42  Education  of  Women  of  India 

women  in  India  by  Mary  Carpenter,  is  a curious 
episode  in  a life  whose  main  work  in  England  was 
to  lead  the  way  to  a national  system  of  moral 
rescue  and  preventive  discipline  for  juvenile 
criminals.  During  the  last  decade  of  her  life 
(1867-1877),  she  visited  India  four  times,  and  by 
her  personal  influence  and  enthusiasm  she  greatly 
affected  the  Government  attitude  and  turned  the 
rising  conviction  of  the  Indian  Theistic  move- 
ments into  the  right  channels.  Her  position  at 
home  secured  her  a direct  hearing  in  Government 
circles  and  the  rapidity  with  which  she  adapted 
her  pre-conceived  notion  of  taking  some  Indian 
girls  home  for  training  to  the  wiser  one  of  female 
Normal  schools  in  India,  proved  once  more  her 
extraordinary  power  of  vision  in  social  problems. 
Herself  of  an  intensely  religious  temperament,  the 
revolt  from  the  crudity  of  much  of  the  orthodox 
religious  teaching  of  the  time  led  her  sympathies 
largely  in  the  direction  of  Unitarianism,  and 
believing,  like  Mountstewart  Elphinstone  and 
many  other  Christian  Indian  statesmen  of  the 
period,  that  secular  education  for  India  was 
ultimately  the  more  religious  policy,  she  threw 
her  whole  influence  into  the  establishment  of 
schools  which  would  not  in  any  way  interfere 
with  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  people.  Yet 
her  attitude  to  the  mission  schools  was  warmly 
sympathetic  and  she  notes  her  indebtedness  to 
the  accumulated  experience  there.19  Some  further 

19  Life  and  Work  of  Mary  Carpenter.  J.  E.  Carpenter, 
1879. 


43 


Historical  Survey 

provision,  however,  seemed  necessary  in  the  case 
of  girls,  as  the  boys  of  the  country  had  larger 
opportunities  and  the  social  system  was  in  danger 
of  one-sided  development.20  Her  whole  energy 
went  towards  the  foundation  of  female  Normal 
schools  and  in  1867  she  secured  a grant  from  the 
Central  Government  of  £1500  per  annum  for  five 
years  for  the  establishment  of  these  schools  in 
Bombay  and  Ahmedabad  on  condition  that  an 
equal  amount  was  provided  by  the  native  com- 
munity. This  stipulation  was  in  accord  with  the 
previous  policy  that  Government  action  should 
not  in  so  delicate  a matter  be  in  advance  of  native 
opinion.  Mr  Dadabhai  Nauraji,  in  a letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  India,  following  on  a 
memorial  from  Indians  in  London,  gives  a general 
survey  of  the  income  derived  from  the  native 
endowments  for  female  education  in  different 
parts  of  India  at  this  time. 

Bombay  . . . Rupees  40,000 

Punjab  • 4.321 

Madras  . . . ,,  234 

Bengal  „ 132 

North  Western  Provinces  ,, 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  a certain  response  existed 
even  if  only  amongst  a few  advanced  sections  of 
the  population.  Further  direct  contributions 
were  not  immediately  forthcoming,  but  after 
various  memorials  a Government  grant  of  £1200 
for  five  years  to  each  of  the  capitals  of  the  three 
20  Six  Months  in  India,.  Vol.  I.,  p.  278.  M.  Carpenter. 


44  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Presidencies  was  ultimately  given  without  this 
special  stipulation.  Miss  Carpenter’s  scheme  for 
the  Normal  schools  laid  special  emphasis  on  the 
need  of  experienced  English  supervision  and 
instruction  as  the  only  means  whereby  the  proper 
training  could  be  secured  and  the  dignity  of  the 
teaching  profession  for  women  raised.  The 
failure  of  the  so-called  Normal  schools  in  the  North 
Western  Provinces  and  the  success  of  the  mission 
training  schools  in  Calcutta  proves  the  wisdom 
of  this  policy.  The  new  schools  passed  through 
various  vicissitudes,  but  ultimately,  Miss  Carpenter 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  substantial  fruit  of  her 
labours  at  Ahmedabad,  Poona  and  Madras.  Much 
of  the  interest  she  had  aroused  amongst  the 
Indian  community  was  doubtless  sporadic,  and 
many  of  the  schools  started  were  short-lived,  but 
in  the  main  her  influence  on  the  development  of 
women’s  education  in  India  has  counted  as  a 
dominant  factor  in  the  Government  policy,  in  the 
establishment  of  the  National  Indian  Association 
and  in  the  permanence  of  certain  institutions. 

The  activity  of  Christian  missions  during  this 
period  seems  extraordinary,  when  the  difficulties 
which  hampered  Government  efforts  are  con- 
sidered. Moreover,  all  their  educational  work 
was  handicapped,  so  far  as  numbers  were  con- 
cerned, by  the  frank  and  open  avowal  of  the 
desire  to  win  their  pupils  ultimately  for 
Christianity.  The  missionaries  had,  however,  at 
their  command  the  one  essential  asset — Western 
women  who  were  willing  to  give  themselves  heart 


45 


Historical  Survey 

and  soul  to  the  work.  Eight  new  women’s 
societies,  both  British  and  American,  entered 
India  between  i860  and  1870,  and  educational 
work  both  in  zenanas  and  in  schools  was  their 
most  effective  means  of  contact  with  the  people. 
Their  pupils  in  the  Primary  stages  were  drawn 
both  from  the  non-Christian  population  and  from 
the  orphans  and  converts  in  connection  with  the 
missions.  As  it  was  possible  to  retain  the 
Christian  girls,  and  even  some  of  the  others  for 
longer  than  the  usual  period,  owing  to  the 
exclusion  of  men  teachers  from  the  mission 
schools,  a Secondary  system  on  identical  lines 
with  that  for  boys  began  to  be  slowly  built  up. 

The  Inspectress  in  the  North  Western  Provinces 
notes  that  almost  the  only  really  prosperous 
Middle  girls’  schools  are  those  in  large  stations 
superintended  by  ladies  of  the  missionary 
societies.21  Miss  Carpenter’s  testimony  to  the 
schools  in  Madras  and  Calcutta  is  in  similar  terms. 
Where  village  schools  were  attempted  they  seem 
to  have  suffered  from  lack  of  constant  super- 
vision. In  1870,  the  Isabella  Thoburn  School, 
Lucknow,  was  founded,  and  in  1880,  the  Sarah 
Tucker  School,  in  Palamcottah.  In  1881,  the 
Free  Church  Mission  School  in  Calcutta  had  the 
satisfaction  of  passing  a successful  candidate  for  the 
First  Arts  examination.  This  girl,  and  a pupil  from 
the  Bethune  School  who  passed  in  the  same  year, 
were  the  first  in  all  India 22  to  accomplish  this  feat. 

21  North  Western  Provinces  Report  on  Education,  1877. 

22  Ibid. 


46  Education  of  Women  of  India 

The  third  period,  from  1884  to  the  present 
date,  is  marked  by  a definite  change  in  the  atti- 
tude of  Government.  The  Educational  Com- 
mission of  1882  under  Sir  William  Hunter  revealed 
many  abuses  which  had  grown  up  in  connection 
with  the  system  in  vogue  for  boys,  and  also 
showed  how  little  had  really  been  done  for  girls. 
The  recommendation  is  that  girls’  schools  should 
now  receive  “ special  encouragement  and 
liberality.”  The  further  recommendation  of  the 
Educational  Commission  of  1900  is  that  girls’ 
schools  should  receive  liberal  grants  and  that 
the  fees  should  be  less  rigidly  enforced.  The 
standards  of  instruction  in  the  Primary  schools 
should  be  different  and  have  special  reference  to 
the  requirements  of  home  life  and  to  the  occupa- 
tions open  to  women.  This  policy,  emphatically 
reiterated  in  the  Despatch  of  1904,  has  worked 
out  differently  in  the  different  provinces,  as 
is  indicated  elsewhere.  Its  main  features  in  the 
last  two  decades  may  be  said  to  be  the  appoint- 
ment from  home  of  experienced  educators  as 
Inspectresses  of  Schools  in  the  Indian  Educa- 
tional Service,  the  establishment  of  model  schools 
for  girls  like  those  formerly  created  for  boys,  in 
districts  where  the  aided  schools  had  not  reached 
the  required  standard  or  did  not  satisfy  the 
wants  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  a considerably 
increased  financial  outlay  both  in  grants  and 
direct  educational  work.  In  1907  the  total  ex- 
penditure amounted  to  over  forty-four  lakhs. 
There  is  no  desire  in  any  way  to  supersede  the 


47 


Historical  Survey- 

aided  schools,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  recognized 
that  the  more  their  work  is  extended,  so  long  as 
it  is  really  efficient,  the  better  for  a country  which 
like  many  others  groans  under  its  taxation,  and 
where  also  the  limit  of  desire  for  female  education 
is  still  easily  reached.  To  efficiency  and  adequate 
supply,  the  Government  directs  its  attention. 
The  proportion  of  the  schools  directly  managed 
by  the  Public  Authority  to  private  or  aided 
schools  may  be  seen  in  the  accompanying 
table,  being  slightly  over  20.41  per  cent,  of  the 
whole. 

Of  the  aided  schools  there  is  no  separate 
official  classification  to  show  what  proportion 
are  managed  by  Indian  committees,  and 
what  by  missionary  agencies.23  Where  possible 
this  has  been  indicated  from  local  informa- 
tion in  the  chapters  on  the  separate  pro- 
vinces. The  Indian  spontaneous  element  has 
become  however  much  stronger  during  this 
modern  period,  not  only  in  Bombay,  where  it  has 
grown  steadily  since  1847,  but  also  in  connection 
with  the  various  Samajes  in  the  Punjab,  United 
Provinces  and  Bengal.  The  orthodox  Hindu 
element  is  seen  in  the  system  of  the  Mahakali 
Pathshalas 24  started  in  Bengal  in  1893,  while 
probably  the  most  remarkable  feature  in  the 
Indian  movement  is  the  establishment  of  girls’ 

23  The  Madras  Report  alone  gives  separate  figures  : 

Secondary  schools,  Government,  2 Mission,  35  Indian,  o 
Primary  schools,  ,,  208  ,.  523  ,,  331 

24  Pathshala  = school. 


Management  of  Girls’  Schools  25 


48  Education  of  Women  of  India 


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Quinquennial  Survey,  1907.  Vol.  II.  Table  180. 


50  Education  of  Women  of  India 

schools  under  committees  of  Indian  gentlemen 
representing  different  faiths.  This  indigenous 
movement  is  due  in  part  to  a desire  to  provide  a 
good  education  without  direct  interference  with 
the  religion  of  the  pupils,  and  in  part  to  a reaction 
from  the  extreme  secularism  and  the  Westernizing 
influences  of  the  Government  schools. 

Missionary  work  in  education  during  the 
modern  period  is  marked  by  continued  expansion. 
The  former  success  of  mission  agencies  in  taking 
a proportion  of  their  pupils  beyond  the  elemen- 
tary stages  is  redoubled.  Of  the  forty  three 
High  Schools  for  Indian  girls,  only  five  in  1907 
were  under  Government  management.  “ The 
bulk  of  female  Secondary  education  is  provided 
by  missionaries.”  27  A glance  at  the  religious 
classification  table  will  show  that  out  of  some 
17,000  Indian  girls  in  the  High  and  Middle 
Schools  more  than  10,000  are  Indian  Christians, 
while  a large  proportion  of  non-Christian  pupils 
are  also  studying  in  mission  schools  and  colleges. 
The  Christian  Primary  schools  in  the  villages  have 
also  greatly  improved  in  type  through  the  intro- 
duction in  some  places  of  modern  eductional 
methods  under  the  careful  and  regular  super- 
vision of  trained  English  managers. 

As  we  survey  the  situation  as  a whole,  certain 
problems  stand  out  as  common  to  all  India  and 
as  indicating  how  critical  is  the  present  period 
in  relation  to  the  ultimate  development  of  her 
women.  These  are  the  extension  of  Primary 
27  Quinquennial  Survey,  1907.  Vol.  I.,  p.  257. 


Historical  Survey  51 

education,  the  retaining  of  pupils  in  the  higher 
stages,  the  nationalizing  of  the  curriculum,  the 
supply  of  teachers,  and  finally  the  place  of  the 
religious  element  in  education. 

In  spite  of  the  recent  rapid  increase  and  the 
steady  progress  of  the  last  twenty  years,  the 
percentage  of  girls  of  school  age  attending  school 
is  only  4. 6, 28  and  though  the  next  Quinquennial 
Returns  will  probably  show  a marked  increase, 
the  desire  for  education  has  still  in  many  places 
to  be  created.  The  proportion  of  girls  in  the 
Secondary  stages  is  not  shown  by  the  number  of 
those  studying  in  High  and  Middle  English 
schools,29  as  many  of  these  are  in  the  Primary 
classes.  Only  1208  girls  were  actually  in  the 
High  School  departments  in  1907.  In  that  year 
178  girls  passed  the  Matriculation  examination.30 

28  Comparative  Percentages.  In  1886 — 1.6  per  cent; 
in  1896 — -2.1  per  cent.  ; in  1901 — 2.2  per  cent.  ; in 
I9°7 — 3-6  per  cent. ; in  1910 — 4.6  per  cent. 

29  Schools  are  classified  as 

(a)  Primary,  including  Standards  I to  IV. 

(b)  Vernacular  Middle,  including  Standards  I to  VII. 

(c)  Anglo- Vernacular  Middle  or  Middle  English,  in- 

cluding Standards  I to  VII.  English  taught 
from  Standard  IV. 

( d ) High,  including  Standards  I to  X.  English 

taught  from  Standard  IV  and  used  as  a medium 
in  the  higher  stages. 

This  classification  varies  somewhat  in  the  different 
provinces,  especially  as  to  the  age  for  using  English  as  a 
medium.  ( b ) is  entirely  absent  from  some  returns,  (c) 
and  ( d ) are  often  grouped  together  as  secondary  schools. 

30  Quinquennial  Survey.  Vol.  I.,  p.  255. 


52  Education  of  Women  of  India 

This  small  proportion  indicates,  apart  from  the 
social  and  religious  customs  which  cause  it,  a 
lack  of  balance  in  the  whole  system.  Are  the 
circumstances  under  which  higher  education  is 
given  not  such  as  commend  themselves  to  the 
Indian  mind  ? Or  is  the  course  of  studies  pursued 
not  of  sufficiently  practical  and  educational  value 
to  prove  attractive  to  Indian  women  ? Is  there 
any  foundation  for  the  popular  belief  that  the 
physique  of  Indian  girls  is  not  strong  enough  for 
a prolonged  school  course  ? These  questions 
underlie  much  of  the  discussion  in  the  following 
chapters. 

Two  causes  are  apparently  at  work.  In  India 
as  a whole  42  % of  the  girl  pupils  are  studying  in 
boys’  schools.  These  naturally  never  proceed 
beyond  the  Primary  stage,  as  co-education  is  not, 
except  in  the  hill  districts,  in  accordance  with 
Indian  ideas.  There  seems  therefore  a great 
need  for  increasing  the  number  of  Primary 
schools  for  girls  only,  whence  the  transition  to 
the  higher  stages  would  be  easy.  In  some 
districts  there  is  practically  an  unlimited  field  for 
expansion  in  this  way.  Another  cause  may 
possibly  be  the  difficulty  of  access  to  really  first- 
class  schools  for  non-Christian  girls.  The  mis- 
sionary societies  which  have  done  so  much  for 
the  higher  education  of  boys  have,  with  certain 
exceptions,  concentrated  their  attention  on  the 
provision  of  excellent  boarding  schools  for  the 
girls  of  the  Christian  community  rather  than 
aiming  at  developing  a parallel  system  for  girls 


Government  Examination  of  Girls,  Calcutta 


53 


Historical  Survey 

which  would  attract  the  non-Christian  element, 
as  it  has  on  the  men's  side.  The  new  Middle 
and  High  schools  which  are  springing  up  under 
Government  and  Indian  auspices  are  an  attempt 
to  meet  this  need,  but  there  is  undoubtedly  room 
for  further  development. 

The  problem  of  the  curriculum  is  a very  subtle 
one.  In  the  early  days  of  the  reform  of  girls’ 
education  in  Great  Britain,  about  1862, 31  the 
greatest  need  seemed  to  be  the  adoption  of  an 
adequate  test  of  knowledge,  and  that  test  one 
already  recognized,  so  that  there  might  seem  to 
be  no  lower  requirement  to  suit  the  supposed 
lower  capacity  of  the  feminine  mind.  The  same 
principle  worked  in  the  early  days  of  girls'  educa- 
tion in  India  and  preparation  for  Matriculation  32 
seemed  the  only  means  by  which  the  standard 
could  be  raised.  Whereas  in  Great  Britain  the 
leading  girls’  High  schools  have  developed  a 
flexibility  and  variety  of  curriculum  wherein 
many  a “ womanly  woman  ” has  found  her  train- 
ing, even  if  she  did  not  prefer  to  seek  her  education 
in  one  of  the  numerous  excellent  private  schools, 
the  girls’  curriculum  for  Indian  girls  has  been 
stereotyped  on  masculine  lines.  If  we  assume 
that  education  should  prepare  for  future  life,  it 
seems  clearly  wrong  that  the  preparation  for 
spheres  so  totally  different  as  those  of  Indian  men 
and  women  should  be  identical.  A highly  trained 
missionary  educator  sums  up  the  problem  of  the 

31  Renaissance  of  Girls’  Education,  A.  Zimmem. 

32  Cf.  Appendix  A.  for  curriculum. 


54  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Secondary  school  as  follows  : — “ In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  less  than  i % go  on  to  college,  the  whole 
plan  of  school  education  is  made  to  lead  up  to 
Matriculation  and  instead  of  completing  a school 
course,  the  aim  is  to  prepare  for  a college  course 
that  is  never  entered  upon.”  The  Inspectress  in 
Bombay  writes  in  this  connection  : — “ Such  a 
course  is  harmful,  and  girls  leave  these  schools 
with  weakened  physique  and  very  little  in  the 
way  of  real  culture  to  compensate  for  it.”  An 
Inspectress  from  Madras  also  writes : — “ The 
examination  shadow  is  to  be  seen  in  every  room 
from  the  third  form  upwards,  and  it  is  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  sufficient  time  can  be 
snatched  for  the  teaching  of  a little  recitation, 
drawing  and  drill,  in  view  of  the  annual  inspec- 
tion.” In  the  Presidencies  of  Madras  and 
Bombay  a departmental  examination  is  offered 
as  alternative  to  Matriculation  for  girls,  and  in 
this  such  subjects  as  botany,  hygiene,  drawing, 
dress-making,  cooking,  appear  as  substitutes  for 
algebra  and  geometry,  but  the  schools  prefer  to 
send  up  their  girls  for  Matriculation.”  The 
further  question  arises  not  only  of  the  differentia- 
tion of  the  girls’  curriculum  from  that  of  the  boys’ 
but  also  from  that  of  Western  girls.  How  is  Indian 
female  education  to  be  brought  into  close  touch 
with  Indian  environment  ? The  spontaneous 
Indian  movement  is  in  part  an  attempt  to  meet 
this  problem,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  inclines 
to  view  as  a racial  affront  any  suggestion  to  adapt 
the  curriculum  to  the  special  needs  of  girls.  The 


55 


Historical  Survey 

Government  Inspectresses  are  closely  considering 
the  matter  and  are  eager  to  welcome  any  construc- 
tive policy  which  will  lessen  the  danger  of  creating 
the  “ female  Babu.”  Several  missionaries  are 
working  hard  against  the  denationalizing  ten- 
dencies which  in  many  cases  were  introduced 
before  the  reformed  educational  methods  prevailed 
in  the  West.  A conference  of  English  educators 
and  Indian  missionaries  was  recently  held  in 
London  to  discuss  Indian  curricula  and  the 
relation  of  the  educational  problems  of  the  East 
and  West.  It  is  true  that  the  opinion  of  Indian 
missionaries  is  not  yet  unanimous  on  the  need  of 
any  alteration,  and  as  the  bulk  of  Secondary 
education  is  in  their  hands  their  co-operation  is 
essential.  There  is  however  good  hope  of  a sound 
constructive  theory  being  ultimately  produced  if 
women  of  sufficient  courage,  originality  and 
ability  can  be  found  to  plough  for  a while  a lonely 
furrow.  The  curricula  for  the  Primary  schools  is 
a different  question.  Some  educators  hold  it  to 
be  the  saner  policy  to  accept  the  fact  that  the 
majority  of  the  girls  will  only  be  at  school  for  four 
years,  and  to  adapt  the  whole  course  to  this 
limitation.  A correspondent  of  the  Education 
Commission  of  the  World  Missionary  Conference 
1910,  writes  : — “ Under  such  circumstances, 
therefore,  the  aim  should  be  directed  towards  a 
sound  elementary  education  in  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic,  a knowledge  of  domestic  economy 
and  hygiene,  and  the  formation  of  a strong  moral 
character.  The  aim,  that  is,  must  be  determined 


56  Education  of  Women  of  India 

by  the  opportunities  offered  for  education.  It  is 
better  to  reach  a lower  aim  than  to  try  for  a higher 
aim  and  fail  altogether.  I believe  the  mistake 
that  is  made  in  regard  to  the  education  of  Hindu 
girls  is  in  attempting  to  do  the  impossible.  There 
are  many  subjects  which  it  is  extremely  desirable 
to  teach,  but  the  limited  time  during  which  the 
girls  are  teachable  makes  it  imperative  to  con- 
centrate on  what  is  attainable.  We  should  aim, 
therefore,  at  demonstrating  to  the  people  that 
the  girls  who  have  been  to  school  become  superior 
housewives  and  mothers  ; that  what  they  learn 
is  of  real  value  to  them  in  the  home  ; and  above 
all,  that  their  moral  character  is  improved  and 
strengthened.”  33  The  Primary  curriculum  has 
already  been  remodelled  to  a certain  extent.  In 
Bengal,  Eastern  Bengal,  and  the  United  Provinces 
separate  schemes  have  been  issued.  In  the  two 
former  the  courses  follow  the  method  of  the 
Kindergarten  in  the  lower  classes,  and  include 
much  nature  study,  also  hygiene,  domestic 
economy  and  sewing.  In  the  United  Provinces 
and  Bombay  the  reading-books  in  use  for  girls 
are  different.  These  reading-books  are  often  the 
only  printed  matter  which  a village  girl  may  ever 
possess,  and  they  are  intended  to  impart  a large 
amount  of  useful  information.  A reformed  cur- 
riculum in  the  hands  of  untrained  teachers 
becomes,  however,  a dead  letter,  perhaps  hardly 
less  injurious  than  the  mere  literacy  of  former 

33  World  Missionary  Conference  Report.  Vol.  III. 
P-  5i- 


57 


Historical  Survey- 

days,  and  thus  the  interdependence  of  the  various 
educational  problems  is  once  again  illustrated. 
Is  it  advisable  to  increase  the  number  of  Primary 
schools,  and  to  adapt  their  curriculum  without  an 
adequate  supply  of  trained  teachers  ? 

The  problem  of  the  teacher  can  be  traced  since 
the  first  beginnings  in  1820,  recurring  with  the 
same  baffling  insistency.  The  modern  situation 
shows  little  advance,  except  that  the  absolute 
necessity  of  having  all  teachers  to  some  extent 
trained  is  gradually  being  recognized,  and  grants 
are  influenced  by  the  degree  in  which  this  ideal 
is  kept  in  view.  The  sources  of  supply  for 
teachers  in  Indian  schools  of  all  grades  are  women 
from  English-speaking  countries,  Anglo-Indians 
or  “ country  born  ” English  girls  from  the  Hill 
schools,  members  of  the  Brahma  and  Arya  Samaj, 
Indian  Christians,  Parsis,  married  women  of  some 
education  from  the  Hindu  non-Brahman  com- 
munity and  lastly  “ women  who  have  learnt  to 
read  and  write  at  home.”  This  last  class  is  still 
astonishingly  prevalent.  Teachers  from  other 
sources  are  sometimes  procured  but,  except  in 
the  case  of  married  women,  they  are  few  in 
number.  There  are  also  a good  many  elderly 
pandits  teaching  in  village  schools.  The  trouble 
is  that  the  demand  enormously  exceeds  the  supply. 
Here  is  a dilemma  familiar  to  missions.  A 
village  school  has  no  teacher  ; there  is  at  hand 
a mission  pupil,  who  has  finished  her  Vernacular 
Middle  Examination,  but  has  not  been  trained  ; 
too  often  it  ends  in  the  appointment  of  the  girl 


58  Education  of  Women  of  India 

to  the  school,  as  the  committee  knows  that 
the  interval  before  she  marries  will  be  only  too 
brief.  This  illustration  applies  throughout  the 
mission  field.  The  difficulties,  moreover,  attend- 
ing proper  chaperonage  of  village  mistresses  are 
enormous.  The  employment  of  widows,  where 
such  are  forthcoming,  is  subject  to  the  same 
difficulty,  but  ultimately  they  may  with  proper 
training  and  care  become  a main  source  of  supply. 
The  hopes  which  early  theorists  have  built  upon 
the  widows  of  India  are  to  a certain  extent  already 
justified  and  may  still  be  confidently  cherished. 
As  regards  the  opportunities  for  training,  a special 
circular,  issued  by  the  Central  Government,  in 
1901,  has  provided  a needed  stimulus  to  both 
official  and  private  effort.  It  is  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish absolutely  between  Secondary  and 
Primary  training,34  as  some  institutions  have  a 
few  students  doing  more  advanced  work  than  the 
others.  On  the  whole  there  is  a distinct  lack  of 
provision  for  the  separate  Secondary  training  of 
women  teachers ; very  few  women  graduates 
have  taken  it  and  the  creation  of  the  opportunity 
might  create  the  demand.  The  students  in 
training  are  mostly  Anglo-Indian.  The  pro- 
vision for  Primary  training  is  more  adequate, 
though  there  is  still  in  some  instances  a lack  of 
that  co-operation  between  missionary  societies 
which  would  lead  to  more  efficient  work.  The 
details  of  management  and  religious  classification 
of  pupils  are  given  on  pages  48  and  49.  The 
34  Cf.  Appendix  B. 


59 


Historical  Survey 

great  difficulty  in  all  the  Primary  training  work 
is  the  lack  of  preliminary  knowledge  ; in  some 
of  the  institutes  for  widows,  indeed,  this  is  a 
long  forgotten  minimum.  The  influence  of  the 
previous  curriculum  upon  those  who  pass  on  to 
the  proper  Vernacular  Course  after  the  Middle 
Examination  is  also  felt.  An  experienced  teacher 
comments  : — “ The  shadow  of  prescribed  examina- 
tion which  hangs  over  the  school  course  before 
training  tends  to  leave  the  girls  quite  unacquainted 
with  the  newer  subjects,  and  they  are  not  able 
to  acquire  these  during  their  training  course  with 
sufficient  thoroughness  to  teach  them  satisfactorily 
afterwards.” 

The  inter-relation  of  these  problems  needs  to 
be  borne  in  mind  throughout.  It  seems  in  many 
ways  as  if  the  whole  reform  in  women’s  education 
in  India  must  begin  from  above  downwards, 
namely  in  the  High  School  and  College  stages 
combined  with  Secondary  training,  till  the  impulse 
imparted  thence  is  felt  throughout  every  grade. 
This  subject  is  specially  treated  in  the  chapter 
on  the  University  Education  of  women.  Reform 
further  can  only  come  through  closer  co-operation, 
the  need  and  opportunity  for  this  will  be  apparent 
in  the  course  of  our  study  of  conditions  in  the 
different  provinces. 


Ill 


BURMA 

" Thou  son  of  dewas  ; to  hear  and  see  much  in  order 
to  acquire  knowledge  ; to  study  all  science  that  leads 
not  to  sin  ; to  make  use  of  proper  language  ; to  study 
the  Law  in  order  to  acquire  a knowledge  of  propriety 
of  behaviour  ; these  are  blessed  things,  Dewa,  mark 
them  well. 

“ Thou  son  of  dewas  ; to  be  patient  and  endure 
suffering ; to  rejoice  in  edifying  discourse ; to  visit 
the  holy  men  when  occasion  serves  ; to  converse  on 
religious  subjects ; these  are  blessed  things,  Dewa, 
mark  them  well.” 

The  Mingala-thut.  Buddhist  Beatitudes. 

(Burma — Sir  George  Scott). 

IN  Burma  the  ancient  ideal  of  Indian  woman- 
hood may  still  be  seen  in  a somewhat 
purified  form.  The  Buddhist  faith  which 
gives  a touch  of  gentleness  to  every  relation  of 
life,  has  accentuated  its  best  features  and  swept 
away  many  of  the  laws  which  hindered  its  develop- 
ment elsewhere.  There  is  thus  very  little  in  the 
position  of  women  in  Burma  at  which  even  the 
most  pronounced  feminist  could  cavil.  The  woman 
is,  if  anything,  the  predominant  partner  and  yet 
few  realize  that  she  rules.  Gay,  blythe  and 
debonnaire,  the  sunniest  spot  in  a sunny  scene, 

60 


Burma 


61 


her  rainbow-tinted  tamein  relieved  by  a short 
white  jacket,  a coloured  scarf  across  her  shoulder, 
and  fresh  flowers  clustering  in  her  dark  lustrous 
hair,  the  Burmese  woman  is  ready  any  day  for 
any  problem  of  life  you  may  choose  to  propound. 
She  is  the  bargainer,  trader  and  financier  of  the 
family,  and  as  such  her  legal  and  monetary 
position  after  marriage  is  well  assured.  Marriage 
is  here  an  affair  of  the  heart,  and  it  is  entered 
upon  when  young  life  flows  strong  in  the  later 
teens.  A woman  may  not  marry  without  her 
parents’  consent  before  the  age  of  twenty,  but 
then  if  marriage  is  her  wish,  why  should  the 
parents  not  consent  ? Why  should  anyone 
object  to  anything  which  promises  to  fulfil  the 
heart’s  desire  of  another  So  runs  a contented 
“ laissez  faire  ” policy.  And  life  is  not  measured 
in  terms  of  money  by  the  Burmese.  If  education 
has  a chance  anywhere  of  being  regarded  not  as 
a means  of  livelihood  but  as  a leading  forth  of 
the  mind  to  higher  and  nobler  thoughts,  it  is  here 
in  Burma,  in  consequence  of  the  mental  char- 
acteristics of  the  people.  Work  beyond  what  is 
needed  for  the  bare  necessaries  of  life  seems 
unnatural,  and  there  is  no  perpetually  rising 
standard  of  comfort,  nor  passion  for  accumulation 
to  bind  the  Burmese  to  an  unceasing  wheel  of 
toil.  He  pauses  to  be  glad  and  to  rejoice.  The 
art  of  rejoicing  is  one  of  the  chief  arts  of  Burma, 
and  there  is  perhaps  no  country  in  the  world 
where  it  is  carried  to  such  a pitch  of  perfection. 
No  generalization  can  be  made  about  any  people 


62  Education  of  Women  of  India 

unless  long  years  are  spent  in  their  midst,  but  the 
first  impressions  made  by  the  Burmese  on  a 
stranger  generally  confirm  the  writers  who 
characterize  them  as  modern  hedonists.  There 
are  books  which  show  another  side  of  the  picture, 
and  many  sad  facts  (notably  the  looseness  of  the 
marriage  tie  x)  bear  them  out,  but  leaving  these 
aside,  and  turning  to  our  particular  problem,  we 
find  that  the  girls’  schools  of  Burma  are  glad  and 
happy  places.  There  is  an  atmosphere  of  buoy- 
ancy and  quiet  zest  in  work  which  strikes  the 
visitor  at  once,  and  this  testimony  is  amply  borne 
out  by  the  teachers. 

It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that  not  all 
girls  in  school  in  Burma  are  Burmese.  A large 
proportion  of  them  are  drawn  from  the  Karens, 
who  occupy  the  tracts  of  hill  country  on  the 
frontier  of  Lower  Burma,  in  Tenasserim,  and  in 
the  Delta  of  the  Irawadi.  The  gradual  civiliza- 
tion and  raising  of  these  tribes  to  the  standard 
of  the  Burmese  in  general,  is  on  all  sides  attri- 
buted to  the  excellent  work  of  the  missionaries, 
(the  American  Baptists  and  the  Anglicans). 
Where  Christianity  comes  its  special  social  results 
follow.  There  is  a Chinese  community  numbering 
over  40,000  and  a strong  Mohammedan  section, 
not  to  speak  of  Hindu  immigrants  from  South 
India,  Tamils  and  Telugus,  while  the  variety  of 
the  educational  problem  may  be  seen  in  the 

1 “Marriage  in  Burma  is  simply  concubinage,  which 
may  terminate  at  the  desire  of  either  party.”  Christian 
Missions  in  Burma.  W.  C.  B.  Purser. 


Girls  at  St  Luke’s  Mission,  Toungoo,  Burma 


Burma 


63 

official  enumeration  of  the  other  races  under 
instruction  : “ Karens,  Talaings,  Chins,  Shans, 

Danus  and  Inthas,  Chinese,  Indians,  Palaungs 
and  Taungthus.”  The  interior  of  Burma  is 
inhabited  by  about  fifty-seven  different  tribes 
speaking  forty  different  languages.  Feminine 
education  however  is  not  as  yet  a matter  of 
importance  amongst  the  hill  tribes ; apart  from 
the  Anglo-Indian  (Eurasian)  schools,  which  lie 
beyond  the  province  of  this  book,  it  affects  mainly 
the  Burmese,  Karen,  Chinese  and  Mohammedan 
communities. 

As  regards  general  literacy,  Burma  ranks  high 
in  the  provinces  of  the  Empire  ; the  proportion 
of  girls  at  school  to  girls  of  school-going  age  was 
9.6%  in  1910, 2 as  compared  with  4%  in  1907  in 
British  India  as  a whole.  This  distinction  is 
however  mainly  in  the  Primary  stages,  for  the 
women  graduates  of  Burma  can  so  far  be 
numbered  on  one’s  fingers.  It  is  also  entirely 
confined  to  those  areas  which  have  come  into 
touch  with  modern  civilization.  There  are  large 
tracts  of  hill  country  where  the  women  are  totally 
uneducated,  for  the  Burmese  and  Karen  women 
alone  contribute  to  the  high  proportion.  One 
would  however  naturally  expect  to  find  a well 
developed  system  of  female  education  throughout 
the  various  stages,  offering  possibly  an  example 
to  the  other  provinces,  and  it  is  surprising  to  find 
that  this  is  not  the  case.  On  the  contrary  there 
is  considerably  less  organization  and  no  such 
2 Public  Instruction  Report,  Burma,  1910. 


64  Education  of  Women  of  India 

definite  policy  in  female  education  as  in  Eastern 
Bengal.  The  real  reasons  for  the  creditable 
proportion  are  the  later  age  of  marriage,  the  bright 
temperament  and  ability  of  the  Burmese  girl,  the 
complete  absence  of  ftarda,  and  the  general  social 
atmosphere,  which  permits  girls  to  study  un- 
hindered in  boys’  schools  throughout  all  the 
stages.  Thus  there  are  more  girls  studying  in 
boys’  schools  than  in  separate  ones,  viz.  73% 
as  compared  with  42%  over  India  as  a whole. 
The  system  seems  in  many  ways  to  work  well. 
Of  the  three  contributing  factors,  which  are  found 
in  every  province,  the  work  of  Government,  the 
spontaneous  Indian  movement,  and  missionary 
effort,  the  last  overwhelmingly  predominates  in 
Burma,  especially  in  the  higher  stages. 

The  policy  of  the  Government,  more  especially 
as  regards  girls’  schools,  has  been  to  encourage, 
guide,  and,  to  a certain  extent,  finance  private 
institutions  while  undertaking  little  direct  work 
of  its  own.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  accompany- 
ing table,  only  four  institutions  are  directly  under 
the  Central  Authority.  A certain  proportion  of 
girls  may  also  be  found  in  the  Government  and 
Municipal  Secondary  schools  for  boys ; the 
Primary  schools  for  boys  directly  under  public 
control  only  number  fifteen  and  the  pro- 
portion of  girls  in  them  is  therefore  a 
negligible  quantity.  No  Inspectress  or  Assistant 
Inspectress  has  as  yet  been  appointed,  partly 
because  funds  are  lacking  and  also  because,  apart 
from  purely  domestic  subjects  there  does  not, 


Management  of  Girls’  Schools  in 


Burma 


65 


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Public  Instruction  Report,  Burma,  1910. 


66  Education  of  Women  of  India 

seem  such  a crying  need  for  it  as  in  other  parts 
of  India. 

The  spontaneous  Indian  element  may  practic- 
ally be  identified  with  the  Buddhist  educational 
movement,  except  for  one  sma,ll  Mohammedan 
school  in  Rangoon  where  tiny  girls  learn  the 
Koran.  To  Buddhism  and  the  Buddhist  monks 
may  be  attributed  the  high  standard  of  literacy 
in  Burma  as  a whole.  Practically  every  Burmese 
boy  knows  how  to  read  and  write,  and  he  has 
learnt  it  at  the  monastery.4  In  the  nature  of 
things  girls  are  not  admitted  to  these  Kyaungs, 
but  there  are  apparently  some  parallel  schools 
for  girls,  conducted  by  nuns.  “ Besides  the 
monastic  public  schools,  there  are  private  schools 
kept  by  laymen  and  occasionally  also  by  women, 
in  which  girls  as  well  as  boys  are  taught.”  5 The 
private  institutions  which  do  not  come  under 
inspection  are  mainly  of  this  character.  One 
fruit  of  the  recent  Buddhist  revival  is  the  Empress 
Victoria  Buddhist  Girls’  School,  which  owes  its 
existence  and  tone  to  the  energies  of  Mrs  HI  a Oung. 
Her  main  idea  is  the  combination  of  modern 
education  with  definite  instruction  in  Buddhism 
and  in  this  the  school  differs  from  all  the 
other  indigenous  girls’  schools,  where  little  beyond 
bare  literacy  can  be  acquired.  Excellent  educa- 
tion up  to  “ Anglo-Vernacular  Standard  VII  ” 
can  be  obtained  here  under  competent  mistresses 
or  masters.  An  Anglo -Vernacular  school  has  also 

4 Missions  in  Burma,  p.  13.  W.  C.  Purser. 

6 Burma.  M.  and  B.  Ferrars. 


Burma 


67 

recently  been  opened  through  private  generosity 
for  the  girls  of  the  Chinese  Colony  in  Rangoon. 
There  is  naturally  no  spontaneous  and  independent 
effort  for  girls’  education  among  the  hill  tribes, 
though  in  many  cases  they  are  ready  to  meet  the 
missionary  more  than  half-way. 

The  missionary  influence  in  the  education  of 
girls  in  Burma  is  thus  a most  important  one, 
and  includes  every  stage  from  the  Kindergarten 
to  Normal  training.  The  chief  agencies  at  work 
are  the  American  Baptist  Mission,  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  America.  The 
Roman  Catholic  educational  schemes  exist  largely 
for  the  Anglo-Indians  and  the  Tamil  immigrants 
from  South  India. 

The  American  Baptist  Mission  dates  from  the 
time  of  Judson  (1810),  and  has  now  in  connection 
with  it  over  70,000  native  Christians  speaking 
eight  different  languages.  The  educational 
scheme  for  their  Christian  girls  is  very  thorough, 
and  leads  up  through  a system  of  small  village 
schools  to  their  Burmese  boarding  school  in 
Kemmandine,  a suburb  of  Rangoon,  and  to  an 
excellent  mixed  Karen  school,  also  in  Rangoon. 
There  is  a separate  Normal  school,  and  one  or  two 
especially  clever  girls  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Matriculation  class  of  the  Baptist  Boys’  High 
School  preparing  to  go  to  the  Mission  College. 
A large  proportion  of  the  non-Christian  girls  are 
drawn  into  these  schools  by  the  efficiency  of  the 
education  offered.  The  centre  of  the  S.P.G. 


68  Education  of  Women  of  India 

work  is  St  Mary’s  School,  Rangoon,  which  dates 
back  to  1865,  and  is  a first-class  institution  in 
every  way.  It  is  satisfactory  to  note  that  several 
of  the  staff  are  former  pupils  who  have  returned 
to  teach  here,  after  training  in  the  S.P.G.  Normal 
School.  Some  of  the  staff  are  Anglo-Indian,  but 
a good  proportion  are  Burmese  Christians.  Two 
English  ladies  are  in  charge.  There  are  about 
one  hundred  boarders,  mostly  Christian,  but 
including  some  Buddhists,  and  nearly  an  equal 
number  of  non-Christian  day  scholars.  The  school 
works  under  the  Government  Code,  and  earns  an 
excellent  grant.  There  are  three  other  good  S.P.G. 
schools  for  Burmese  or  Karen  girls  which  lead 
up  to  St  Mary’s.  Those  at  Toungoo  and  Mandalay 
have  a considerable  number  of  boarders.  A few  of 
these  are  drawn  from  the  immigrant  population — 
as  Kansi,  the  little  Ghurka  girl  in  the  accompany- 
ing illustration.  Her  father  is  a Christian,  and 
contributes  regularly  to  her  maintenance.  The 
policy  of  the  S.P.G.  Mission  seems,  so  far,  rather 
to  concentrate  on  a few  good  schools  than  to 
develop  much  village  educational  work.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  schools,  like  those  of  the 
S.P.G.,  are  partly  for  the  Anglo-Indian  com- 
munity, and  partly  for  the  indigenous  population. 
In  Rangoon  they  have  two  good  High  schools, 
one  of  each  type,  and  other  schools  in  the  country. 
The  educational  work  done  by  other  societies  in 
Burma  is  not  extensive ; but,  where  every  unit 
counts,  it  has  its  own  contribution  to  make. 
There  are  arge  tracts  of  hill  country  round  Burma 


Ghurka  Girl  Boarder  at  S.P.G.  Girls’  School, 
Mandalay 


Burma 


6 9 

which  are  still  waiting  for  missionary  advance,  and 
where  the  women  are  totally  uneducated.  The 
pioneer  work  to  be  done  would  be  of  the  type 
usual  amongst  primitive  peoples,  and  might 
produce  the  same  magnificent  results  as  amongst 
the  Karens. 

Passing  from  the  organizing  agencies  to  the 
actual  pupils,  the  religious  classification  as  seen 
in  the  accompanying  table  is  of  interest. 

The  Anglo-Indian  pupils  pass  through  the 
various  stages  of  their  education  in  the  High  School, 
hence  their  absence  in  the  statistics  of  the  Primary 
schools.  The  proportion  of  Mohammedan  girls 
in  the  High  schools  is  striking,  and  is  possibly  due 
to  the  fact  of  mixed  parentage  ; Buddhist  freedom 
to  a certain  extent  influences  Mohammedan 
customs  in  Burma.  By  the  new  regulations  only 
15%  of  the  places  in  the  “European”  schools 
are  available  for  Burmese  or  Indian  girls,  and 
these  vacancies  are  eagerly  sought  after.  The 
curriculum  pursued  in  the  various  schools  is  laid 
down  in  the  Government  Code,  and  there  are  no 
schools  of  any  importance  which  stand  apart 
and  develop  an  experimental  curriculum  of  their 
own,  as  occasionally  happens  in  other  provinces. 
Burma  has,  as  yet,  no  University  of  her  own,  and 
the  curriculum  of  the  schools  with  the  corre- 
sponding departmental  examinations  is  to  a 
certain  extent  determined  in  relation  to  the 
Calcutta  Matriculation.  Schools  are  classified  as 
" High  ” in  which  after  a good  vernacular 
foundation,  the  pupils  are  taken  up  to  Matricula- 


Classification  by  Race  or  Creed  of  Burmese  School  Girls 


Education  of  Women  of  India 


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Report  of  Public  Instruction  in  Burma,  1910,  p.  41. 


Burma 


tion,  English  being  used  as  a medium  of  instruc- 
tion in  the  higher  forms ; “ Middle  Anglo- 

Vernacular,”  in  which  English  is  taught  orally 
from  the  Primary  stages  and  as  a written 
language  from  the  fourth  class,  instruction  is 
given  only  up  to  the  test  of  the  seventh  standard, 
and  in  the  latter  stages  English  is  used  as  a 
medium  ; “ Middle  Vernacular,”  in  which  pupils 
are  taken  up  to  the  seventh  standard,  but  no 
English  instruction  whatever  is  given ; and 
“ Primary,”  where  vernacular  education  is  only 
carried  to  the  fourth  standard. 

The  curriculum  is  in  many  respects  very 
similar  to  that  found  in  schools  at  home,  and  is 
open  to  the  usual  criticism  that  its  influence  is 
denationalizing.  A recent  order  limits  the  teach- 
ing of  English  in  the  first  three  classes  to  simple 
conversation  lessons,  in  order  that  more  stress 
may  be  laid  on  correct  vernacular.  The  advan- 
tages of  the  oral  method  in  the  hands  of  a skilled 
teacher  are  undoubted,  but  it  is  a question 
whether  the  Department  have  not  been  somewhat 
premature  in  this  respect.  The  Kindergarten 
classes  are  excellently  conducted  in  some  schools, 
and  every  effort  is  made  to  keep  them  as  Burmese 
as  possible  in  character.  In  drawing,  a complete 
series  of  copies  based  on  Burmese  design  and 
ranging  from  the  most  simple  to  the  most 
elaborate,  has  been  prepared  and  is  in  extensive 
use.  It  is  when  the  stage  of  optional  and  alter- 
native subjects  is  reached  that  the  denationalizing 
element  enters  more  strongly.  In  one  High 


72  Education  of  Women  of  India 

school  visited,  only  about  25%  of  the  girls  were 
taking  Burmese,  in  some  forms  only  one  pupil  did 
so,  while  many  of  them  take  Latin,  and  a pre- 
ponderating proportion  choose  English  history  as 
being  an  easy  examination  subject.  The  number 
of  Anglo-Indian  girls  partly  explains  this  choice. 
Indian  history  is  a compulsory  subject  throughout, 
and  the  Government  Code  offers  ample  scope  for 
vernacular  and  classical  Oriental  study.  It  is 
the  choice  of  the  individual  pupil  or  parents  which 
is  at  fault.  Sewing  is  not  a subject  which  carries 
a Government  grant,  and  excepting  at  a few  of 
the  European  schools,  it  is  at  a low  ebb.  The 
Principal  of  the  S.P.G.  High  school  acted  as 
Inspectress  for  the  Department  in  this  subject 
during  1910  in  some  twenty-six  schools,  and 
through  her  efforts  the  standard  has  been  to  some 
extent  raised,  but  there  is  a crying  need  for  a 
properly  appointed  Inspectress,  who  will  develop 
this  subject  as  well  as  a sound  system  of  in- 
struction in  hygiene  and  domestic  economy 
adapted  to  Burmese  conditions.  The  tendency 
is  for  the  girls  to  drop  off  in  the  higher  forms 
at  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  so  that  very  few 
really  go  up  for  the  Matriculation  examination, 
and  these  mainly  with  intent  to  teach.  Others 
pass  after  Standard  VII.  straight  to  the  Normal 
school. 

In  outer  circles  a strong  destructive  criticism 
is  directed  against  the  anglicizing  tendency  of 
education  in  Burma,  but  amongst  the  missionaries 
actually  engaged  in  it  there  is  not  the  same 


Burma 


73 


realization  of  a possible  need  for  change  as  is 
found  amongst  certain  sections  of  missionary 
educators  in  other  parts  of  India.  The  reason 
for  this  may  partly  lie  in  the  fact  that  the  Western 
education  of  girls — indeed  education  at  all  beyond 
the  mere  rudiments — is  of  later  date  in  Burma 
than  elsewhere,  and  that  consequently  its  full 
effect  cannot  yet  be  traced.  Moreover,  among 
the  Burmese  there  is  not  the  same  “ nationalist  ” 
spirit  as  exists  in  India  proper,  and  this  directly 
influences  the  educational  problem.  It  must  be 
remembered,  too,  that  there  is  not  the  same  gulf 
between  the  woman’s  life  and  the  man’s  as  in 
other  parts  of  India,  and  that  the  system  used 
for  boys  may  in  many  respects  be  excellent  for 
girls.  But  whether  we  have  here  in  its  early 
stages  a problem  which  is  destined  to  become 
more  acute,  is  a subtle  question  and  one  worthy  of 
close  inquiry.  At  any  rate,  no  constructive  theory 
has  as  yet  been  put  forward  by  any  mission  school. 
The  general  public,  however,  criticize,  and  taking 
that  criticism  for  what  it  is  worth,  there  is  a 
general  indictment  on  the  ground  of  the  education 
given  being  mere  “cram,”  and  not  really  a train- 
ing of  mind  and  character.  A Burmese  Deputy 
Commissioner  writes  : “If  women  have  become 
more  educated,  many  have  also  become  more  frivo- 
lous, spending  their  time  in  reading  songs,  zats ,7 

7 Dramatic  tales  with  pointed  moral.  The"  Pyazats,” 
the  modern  development  thereof  are  popular  burlesque 
plays,  performed  at  festivals.  Cf.  Burma.  Sir  George 
Scott. 


74  Education  of  Women  of  India 

and  useless  trash,  instead  of  doing  more  useful 
work.” 8 A special  accusation  is  also  directed 
against  the  general  atmosphere  of  the  school, 
which  is  too  reminiscent  of  English  to  be  the 
natural  one  for  a foreign  country. 

Both  these  criticisms  are  apparently  concerned 
more  with  the  problem  of  the  teacher  than  with 
that  of  the  curriculum.  The  Government  Code 
is  elastic,  the  trouble  is  the  lack  of  emphasis  laid 
on  Oriental  subjects.  A British  or  American 
missionary  may  often  enter  at  once  into  school 
life  in  Burma  without  any  opportunity  of  knowing 
the  people  or  the  language,  and  be  thus  unable 
to  give  the  Burmese  tone,  which  in  theory  she 
may  or  may  not  value.  I observed  the  special 
case  of  a young  American  at  the  head  of  a 
large  Anglo- Vernacular  Middle  school  who  was 
obliged  to  interview  her  new  pupils  through  an 
interpreter,  and  had  no  means  of  supervising  the 
instruction  given  in  the  vernacular  throughout 
her  school.  The  educational  problem  translates 
itself  here  into  the  mission  problem  of  under- 
staffing. It  may  doubtless  be  argued  that  the 
denationalizing  influence  in  the  mission  schools  is 
that  of  a religion  presented  in  its  Western  aspects 
but  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  same  atmo- 
sphere is  felt  in  the  Empress  Victoria  Buddhist 
Girls’  School,9  which  is  constantly  under  the 
personal  influence  of  Mrs  Hla  Oung,  a leading 
Buddhist.  The  definite  statement,  “ We  wish  to 
be  English  in  everything  except  our  religion,” 

8 Public  Instruction  Report,  p.  18.  9 Cf.  p.  66. 


Burma 


75 


affords  a striking  contrast  to  the  care  with 
which  some  missionaries  seek  to  preserve  all 
that  is  good  and  right  in  national  tradition 
and  custom. 

Passing  from  the  dominant  influence  to  the 
staff,  through  which  the  Head-mistress  must 
transmit  her  ideals,  what  opportunities  of  training 
have  these  teachers  had  ? As  regards  the  Normal 
schools  the  whole  work  is  practically  in  the  hands 
of  the  missionaries.  There  are  four  Normal 
schools  for  girls  all  under  mission  management. 
These  included  in  1910  eighty-eight  pupils,  of 
whom  sixty-nine  were  native  Christians.  There 
are  also  a few  girls  in  the  Government  Normal 
schools  for  men,  notably  two  Mohammedan  girls 
in  the  Mandalay  school.  The  criticism  in  the 
Government  Report  is  that  the  literary  work 
demanded  of  the  female  students  is  too  severe, 
especially  if  they  do  not  aim  at  teaching  in  any 
institution  higher  than  a Primary  school.  Some 
alteration  in  the  curriculum  is  suggested.  More- 
over, many  teachers  cannot  afford  to  defer  the 
opportunity  of  an  immediate  salary,  and  do  not 
pass  through  the  Normal  school.  Most  of  those  in 
charge  of  the  mission  schools,  however,  insist  upon 
Normal  training  for  their  teachers.  The  type  of 
teacher  produced  is  not,  according  to  general 
opinion,  a very  high  one  ; she  is  intellectually 
weary,  and  looks  upon  her  career  mainly  from  a 
pecuniary  point  of  view.  There  are,  of  course, 
marked  exceptions.  Teachers’  Associations  do 
not  exist,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  these 


76  Education  of  Women  of  India 

would  be  advisable  owing  to  the  heat  and  strain 
of  the  necessary  hours  of  teaching.  The  material, 
therefore,  with  which  the  Headmistress  has  to 
shape  her  school  is  not  of  the  best  quality,  and  it 
is  all  the  more  necessary  that  she  should  have 
leisure  from  routine  for  personal  contact  with 
both  pupils  and  staff.  This  is  just  what  she  does 
not  get.  A very  large  proportion  of  her  time  is 
often  taken  up  by  work  on  Government  schedules, 
and  in  personally  teaching  the  higher  English 
classes.  In  mission  schools,  which  frequently 
have  non-Christian  teachers  on  their  staff,  she 
may  also  have  to  teach  the  Scripture  lessons 
throughout.  So  far,  we  look  in  vain  for  Burmese 
women  who  have  passed  up  to  the  University 
to  train  as  leaders.  Of  the  twelve  women  Arts 
students  in  Rangoon,  only  one  is  Burmese.  She 
is  a Christian.  Even  the  Anglo-Indian  com- 
munity, from  which  many  of  the  teachers  are 
drawn,  rests  content  with  the  qualification  of 
First  Arts  (a  two  years’  University  course),  and 
no  graduates  have,  as  yet,  to  the  writer’s  know- 
ledge, taken  Secondary  training.  The  ideal  for 
women’s  education  in  Burma  is  the  production 
of  some  fully  qualified  Burmese  Head-mistresses, 
who  will  be  able  to  impress  their  individuality 
on  the  whole  system,  and  thus  make  it  contribute 
to  the  beauty  of  their  national  characteristics. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  day  of  foreign  and 
missionary  educators  in  Burma  has  in  one  sense 
only  begun ; they  are  needed  for  pioneer  work 
amongst  the  untouched  hill  districts  ; for  the  even 


Burma 


77 


more  difficult  task  of  guiding  the  course  of 
higher  education  into  the  right  channels  ; and 
for  the  work  of  training  those  who  will  prove 
in  the  future  its  best  interpreters  to  their  own 
people. 


IV 


EASTERN  BENGAL  AND  ASSAM: 

“ A woman’s  place  in  the  National  life  will  now  best 
be  filled  by  the  realization  of  herself  ; she  must  grow 
to  her  full  stature,  taking  as  her  due  her  share  of  God’s 
light  and  air,  of  the  gifts  of  the  Earth-Mother.” 

C.  Sorabji. 

TO  pass  from  the  sunny  smiling  country  of 
the  Burmese  to  Dacca,  the  capital  of 
Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam,1  is  to  enter 
a scene  of  strange  contrast,  and  one  marked  by 
monotone  and  inertia.  The  brilliant  Eastern  sun 
shines  down,  but  its  rays  are  caught  by  no  golden 
roofs  and  domes ; sombre  grey  stone  meets  the 
eye,  with  here  and  there  traces  of  the  carving  and 
colouring  left  by  the  alerter  men  of  centuries 
ago  ; there  are  no  smiling  happy  groups  of  women 
busy  with  the  day’s  work,  their  gay  garments 
bright  against  the  background  of  tropical  green, 
but  only  here  and  there  ghostly  figures  clad  in 
burqas ,2  or  some  scantily  draped  “ sweeper  ” 

1 This  was  written  before  the  Durbar  Proclamation 
on  the  further  re-adjustment  of  Bengal  areas.  Calcutta 
is  now  the  capital  of  the  Bengali-speaking  districts. 

2 White  veil  with  eye-holes,  enveloping  the  whole 
person. 


78 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  79 

women,  little  heeding,  and  as  little  heeded.  A 
strange  town  it  is,  with  a strange  mixture  of 
civilizations,  and  yet  possessing  withal  a certain 
charm  of  latent  capability.  Relics  of  a Hindu 
past  are  there,  almost  lost  beneath  the  Moslem 
dominance  of  the  thirteenth  century,  which 
brought  with  it  some  of  the  glory  of  architecture 
and  the  learning  of  Upper  India,  but  seemed  to 
take  on  the  colourlessness  of  the  land  to  which  it 
came,  winning  chiefly  the  lower  classes  ; now  the 
new  Western  influence  has  come,  and  has  given 
to  the  Bengali,  by  means  of  education,  a unity 
which  repudiates  its  source,  thus  creating  a young 
India  awake  and  alert.  The  diverse  characteristics 
of  the  capital  are  in  a sense  typical  of  the  diversity 
of  the  whole  province  and  of  the  problems  of 
its  administration  and  development.  The  new 
province  created  by  the  Partition  in  1905 
includes  the  territories  formerly  administered  by 
the  Chief  Commissioner  of  Assam,  to  which  have 
been  added  certain  districts  lying  on  the  Eastern 
side  of  the  bay  of  Bengal,  the  river  regions  of 
the  Padua  and  the  Jumna,  and  the  Chittagong 
division  which  borders  on  the  Burmese  hill 
district.  It  thus  includes  large  city  populations, 
such  as  Dacca  with  over  90,000  inhabitants, 
and  great  river  districts  such  as  Sylhet,  and  the 
Padua Meghna  Delta,  with  its  intersecting  channels, 
which  in  the  rainy  season  multiply  by  the  hun- 
dred till  the  country  is  a network  of  waterways, 
and  in  which  every  brown  boy  is  as  much  at  home 
as  he  is  on  land — a country  of  villages  and  of  rich 


8o  Education  of  Women  of  India 

abundant  harvests,  where  the  monsoon  fails  not, 
and  famine  is  unknown.  Then  there  are  the  hill 
districts — the  Khasi  and  Garo  Hills,  the  native 
states  of  Manipur  and  Tippera,  and  the  country 
bordering  on  Burma,  where  a strong  and  vigorous 
people,  marked  by  a hardy  independence,  are  only 
gradually  being  touched  by  modern  civilization. 
While  the  educational  problem  is  mainly  a rural 
one — in  1901  only  2%  were  enumerated  in  the 
sixty  one  towns — the  urban  minority,  with 
its  demand  for  higher  education,  cannot  be 
ignored. 

Female  education  in  Eastern  Bengal  has  certain 
aspects  which  make  it  differ  from  that  in  other 
provinces,  and  render  it  a peculiarly  interesting 
study.  Whereas  elsewhere  we  shall  trace  the 
development  of  the  three  different  influences — the 
spontaneous  Indian  movement,  missionary  efforts, 
and  the  work  of  Government,  the  last,  in  varying 
degrees,  a unifying  and  co-ordinating  agency — here 
we  have  one  well-organized  Government  Female 
Education  Committee,  on  which  all  these  interests 
are  represented,  and  by  which  a unified  policy  is 
in  process  of  being  worked  out.  This  Committee 
was  appointed  after  the  Partition  in  1907,  to 
work  under  the  Director  of  Public  Instruction, 
and  consists  of  those  officials  directly  concerned, 
of  non-officials  of  various  creeds,  of  representa- 
tives of  several  missionary  agencies,  and  of  a few 
Indian  and  British  ladies  selected  mainly  for 
their  interest  in  such  matters.  It  is  in  no  sense 
a popular  body,  and  it  has  no  executive  function  ; 


A Hill  School,  Eastern  Bengal 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  81 

but  it  has  done  some  extremely  useful  work.  Its 
policy  has  been  to  survey  the  field,  taking  into 
account  the  diverse  and  complicated  nature  of 
the  task  to  be  accomplished,  to  utilize  so  far  as 
possible  all  existing  agencies,  and  to  plan  a 
thorough  and  scientific  scheme  embracing  all 
classes.  The  development  of  this  scheme  must 
be  one  of  slow  and  patient  labour.  No  great 
social  scheme  which  is  to  have  permanent  results 
can  be  enforced  in  a revolutionary  or  sudden 
way,  and  least  of  all  where  prejudice  has  to  be 
overcome,  where  public  opinion  must  be  influenced, 
and  where  possibly  the  passing  of  generations  and 
the  influence  of  heredity  are  needed  for  its  fruition. 
In  a sense  the  very  backwardness  of  the  province 
is  its  opportunity.  The  possibility  before  it  of 
laying  foundations  on  sound  educational  prin- 
ciples, of  using  the  experience  gained  by  other 
provinces  in  the  adaptation  of  certain  types  of 
institutions  to  local  conditions,  of  surveying 
the  whole  field  without  haste,  and  of  making  a 
systematic  effort  to  raise  all  classes  and  all  sections 
of  the  population,  augurs  well  for  the  future  stand- 
ing of  the  province,  and  may  produce  a better 
type  of  education  than  that  which  has  developed 
more  quickly  and  more  sporadically  elsewhere. 

A sketch  of  the  present  situation  must  naturally 
take  as  its  centre  the  work  of  this  Committee,  the 
result  of  its  survey  of  the  classes  affected,  its 
utilization  of  existing  agencies,  its  constructive 
work,  and  the  practicable  character  of  its  aims. 

What,  then,  of  the  actual  girls  to  be  educated  ? 

F 


82  Education  of  Women  of  India 


The  classes  affected  are  many  and  diverse,  educa- 
tion and  rank  often  varying  in  inverse  proportion  ; 
the  educational  and  the  social  problems  are  here 
again  so  closely  interwoven  that  the  holding  of 
parda  parties  has  a very  definite  relation  to 
the  statistics  of  school  attendance.  The  Indian 
Christians,  of  whom  there  are  over  66,000,  mostly 
living  in  the  Khasi  and  Jaintia  Hills  are  naturally 
keenly  eager  for  education,  and  contribute  con- 
siderably to  the  supply  of  teachers.  About  the 
non-Christians  it  is  impossible  to  generalize.3 
From  the  young  Begum 4 directly  descended  from 
one  of  the  Moslem  invaders  to  the  child  of  some 
peasant  woman,  who  grudges  her  from  the  work 
of  the  field  to  the  seemingly  profitless  village 
school,  is  a far  cry,  and  the  gamut  of  possibilities 
lies  between.  Here  is  a high-born  Moslem  girl, 
whose  male  relatives  hold  University  degrees  and 
Government  appointments,  and  who  will  allow  a 
certain  advance  to  their  women- folk,  but  no  more. 
For  instance,  an  English  teacher  may  be  admitted 
for  a few  hours  a day,  or  if  the  family  be  wealthy 
and  of  sufficient  rank,  an  English  governess  may 
be  secured  to  devote  her  whole  time  to  the  pupils. 
Here  is  another  still  so  tied  by  conservatism  that 
she  may  not  see  English  ladies  or  learn  of  modern 
thought.  Her  male  relatives  may  give  her  the 

3 Mohammedans,  18  millions.  Hindus,  11 J millions. 
Animists,  i\  millions.  1901  Census. 

4 This  title  is  used  of  a Mahommedan  woman  of  a 
ruling  family,  or  who  can  prove  direct  descent  from 
the  Prophet. 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  83 

smattering  of  Koranic  lore  which  is  necessary  for 
religion.  The  Mohammedan  women  of  the  upper 
class  can  nearly  all  read  Urdu,  and  are  clever  with 
their  needles.  Here  is  a girl  of  the  Brahma 
Samaj,  supposed  to  be  free,  and  yet  one  might 
almost  say  shy  of  her  freedom,  with  every  oppor- 
tunity to  take  the  higher  education  which  would 
fit  her  for  social  influence,  she  yet  ceases  her 
studies  when  only  some  three  standards  beyond 
her  Hindu  sister.  Another  girl  with  the  same 
up-bringing  has  sufficient  strength  and  determina- 
tion to  persevere  through  the  whole  course  and 
finish  with  Normal  training  or  University  honours. 
There  is  a strong  demand  for  education  up  to 
a certain  stage  also  among  the  Brahmans, 
Kayasths,5  and  Baidyas,6  a demand  which  is, 
however,  limited  to  the  few  years  before  the 
ftarda  is  strictly  drawn,  an  event  which  happens 
between  the  ages  of  eight  and  eleven.  Then 
there  are  the  lower  class  Mohammedans,  who 
are  anxious  only  for  Koranic  education,  the 
Namasudras,7  whose  intellect  is  at  so  low  a level 
that  a whole  term  may  be  spent  in  acquiring  a 
single  letter  of  the  alphabet,  and  the  hill  tribes 
where  par  da  is  non  existent,  and  where  in  certain 
cases  the  women  are  more  literate  than  the  men. 
The  whole  enumeration  shows  how  very  diverse 

6 A literary  caste. 

6 A.  literary  caste,  about  25  per  cent,  of  their  women 
are  literate. 

7 Descendants  probably  of  the  original  inhabitants  of 
the  district. 


84  Education  of  Women  of  India 

and  complex  are  the  classes  for  whom  education 
must  be  planned. 

Passing  to  the  agencies  at  work,  there  have 
been  in  the  more  advanced  portions  of  the 
province,  apart  from  Government  and  the 
municipalities,  spontaneous  efforts  to  educate 
girls.  Some  of  the  present  village  schools  are  of 
this  indigenous  type,  and  are  kept  possibly  by  an 
elderly  Hindu  pandit  and  his  wife,  where  little 
girls  are  collected  for  a few  hours  daily — not 
stated  hours — and  drone  over  Bengali  books  of 
an  archaic  type,  in  an  ill-ventilated  room.  The 
result  of  this  education  may  be  the  ability  to 
recite  certain  shlokas  8 and  to  check  a marketing 
account,  or  merely  the  prestige  in  the  marriage 
market  of  having  been  to  school.  Where  it  is 
possible  to  improve  schools  of  this  type  or 
standard,  they  fall  into  the  general  scheme,  but 
as  a rule  they  are  “passed  by  on  the  other  side.” 
The  Mahakali  Patshala,9  started  in  1907  at 
Mymensingh,  represents  again  spontaneous  effort 
of  a more  advanced  type,  and  is  an  attempt  to 
give  a modern  and  strictly  religious  education  on 
Hindu  lines.  This  institution  is  much  more 
advanced  than  the  parent  Patshala,  described 
on  page  113.  The  Mohammedan  community 
have  been  more  backward  in  organizing 
schools ; a circular  sent  out  by  a Sub- 
Committee  on  behalf  of  the  Government  to 

8 Shloka,  a particular  type  of  Sanskrit  metre,  often 
used  loosely  to  mean  any  verse  of  Sanskrit  poetry. 

9 Patshala = school. 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  85 

various  Mohammedan  associations  produced  very 
few  replies,  including  the  following : “ But  it  is 
not  proper  time  for  starting  Mohammedan  female 
education,  as  the  people  are  not  willing  to  have 
their  girls  educated.”  There  is,  however,  a 
certain  number  of  Muktabs  or  Koranic  schools, 
where  girls  are  taught  what  is  necessary  for 
religion,  and  in  some  cases  a little  secular  know- 
ledge. 

The  most  important  missionary  agencies  in  the 
province  are  the  Baptists  from  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  America,  and  England,  and  the  Welsh 
Presbyterians,  all  of  whom  are  carrying  on  good 
educational  work.  The  Sisters  of  the  Oxford  Mission 
have  also  entered  the  field  more  recently.  Taken 
as  a whole  the  missionary  contribution  is,  however, 
much  smaller  than  in  other  provinces.  The  best 
vernacular  school  for  girls  in  Dacca  is  that  which 
has  a hostel  attached  of  the  English  Baptist 
Mission,  and  the  training  of  teachers  at  Nowgong 
in  the  hill  districts  is  proving  specially  useful  to 
Government.  This  can  be  better  considered  later 
in  relation  to  the  hill  districts  as  a whole.  The 
mission  schools  are  a welcome  addition  to  the 
educational  scheme,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  note 
the  cordial  relations  and  co-operation  between 
their  organizers  and  the  Government  officials. 
As  regards  their  extension,  if  new  schools  were 
contemplated  in  a town  or  district  where  a good 
accessible  school  already  existed,  grants  would 
probably  not  be  given,  but  as  the  field  is  practi- 
cally unlimited,  the  question  is  merely  academic. 


86  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Thus  the  constructive  policy  of  the  Government 
Committee10  embraces  these  existing  agencies  and 
all  schools  entirely  under  public  control,  whether 
municipal  or  directly  under  Government.  The 
Committee  aims  at  the  ideal  of  a Primary  school  in 
every  village,  in  more  populous  centres  the 
raising  of  a certain  number  of  these  to  schools  of 
a rather  better  type,  the  establishment  of  a 
Government  school  (Middle  or  Anglo- Vernacular) 
in  the  headquarters  of  every  division,  the  warm 
encouragement  of  all  private  Middle  schools,  and 
the  development  of  some  definite  system  of 
parda  instruction  which  could  reach  the  higher 
and  stricter  classes.  The  system  is  completed  by 
three  existent  High  schools.  Taking  these 
different  stages  in  order  we  must  first  consider 
the  Primary  schools. 

There  were  in  1909,  4501  Primary  schools  in  the 
whole  Province,  an  increase  of  about  800  on  the 
preceding  year.  Assam  and  the  Surma  Valley 
are  scantily  provided.  The  establishment  of  a 
sound  system  of  Primary  schools  is  naturally  the 
chief  aim,  but  its  attainment  depends  on  the 
development  of  a thoroughly  efficient  staff  of 
teachers.  The  word  “ primary  ” covers  a multi- 
tude of  sins,  and  is  very  varied  in  its  applica- 
tion. Here,  for  instance,  is  a school  of  the  aided 
type  in  a village  of  over  6000  inhabitants.  The 
little  girls  are  crushed  together  on  ill-constructed 
benches  in  an  ill-ventilated  room,  agonizing  in 

10  Information  throughout  is  chiefly  drawn  from 
Proceedings  of  Female  Education  Committee. 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  87 

different  degrees  of  shyness  under  the  thrilling 
ordeal  of  a visitor.  All  of  them  are  Hindus,  for 
the  Mohammedans  do  not  go  to  school  in  this 
village.  Apparently  there  is  scarcely  any  system 
of  classification  except  for  the  broad  distinction 
of  “ little  ” and  “ less.”  All  are  under  eleven 
years  of  age  and,  according  to  the  village  custom, 
have  walked  to  school  in  charge  of  the  school 
servant.  The  school  is  supposed  to  teach  up  to 
Standard  III,  but  every  girl  who  leaves  able  to 
read  and  write,  and  not  much  injured  in  health 
from  sitting  daily  for  five  hours  in  a cramped 
position,  may  consider  herself  lucky.  The 
attempts  of  itinerant  Sub-Inspectors  at  teaching 
the  venerable  pandit  how  to  teach,  have  fallen  on 
unscathed  shoulders,  yet  there  is  a certain  pathos 
in  the  owl-like  glance  with  which  he  fixes  the  two 
Sub-Inspectors,  who  answer  all  the  visitor’s 
questions  without  the  least  reference  to  him. 
For  the  pandit  knows  that  his  day  is  done — a new 
school  is  in  process  of  erection,  and  an  energetic 
Sub-Divisional  Officer  is  on  the  outlook  for  a 
trained  schoolmistress.  With  the  passing  of  the 
pandit  will  go  much  of  the  quaintness  of  the 
Indian  school,  which  sentimentally  may  be 
regretted,  but  which  must  yield  place  to  the 
modern  demand  for  efficiency.  It  is  refreshing 
to  turn  to  a school  of  the  new  order,  an  urban 
one.  The  day  is  wet,  so  only  twenty-five  out  of 
forty  pupils  are  present,  Hindus  chiefly,  of  the 
Kayasth  caste.  The  three  lowest  classes  are 
happily  seated  on  matting  with  a tiny  desk  in 


88  Education  of  Women  of  India 

front ; the  older  ones  are  still  swinging  their  feet 
on  too  high  a bench — but  what  good  is  there 
in  having  Inspectresses  if  there  is  nothing  to 
improve  ? A tidy  time-table  on  the  wall  shows 
the  rotation  of  lessons.  There  are  shells  for 
arithmetic,  maps  and  object-lesson  sheets,  there 
is  space  for  drill  or  breathing  exercises  at  the  end 
of  every  hour,  there  are  neat  specimens  of  sewing 
(not  perennial  ones  which  have  survived  many  an 
inspection)  and  above  all,  there  is  a happy  smiling 
mistress,  whose  personality  inspires  new  ideals 
and  new  thoughts.  A bright  little  maiden  of 
eleven  in  a blue  and  gold  sari,  who  gaily  translates 
an  Urdu  conversation  into  Bengali,  has  designs  on 
a scholarship  for  the  Eden  High  School,  and 
perhaps  some  day  she,  too,  may  be  an  “ Ustani  ” 11 
as  wondrous  wise  as  her  mistress.  This  is  the 
bright  side  of  things,  but  it  shows  the  possibilities 
which  lie  under  dry  statistics.  The  recent  report 
of  1910  on  Primary  schools  in  the  town  of  Dacca 
shows  an  increase  of  about  200  girls  in  one  year. 
Of  the  sixteen  schools,  twelve  are  now  provided 
with  mistresses  and  the  general  progress  is 
satisfactory,  although  there  are  still  many 
difficulties  to  overcome,  especially  if  the  propor- 
tional increase  in  the  number  of  pupils  exceeds, 
as  is  probable,  that  of  the  trained  teachers 
available,  and  proper  space  is  lacking.  The 
problem  in  Dacca  is  typical  of  the  urban  problem 
throughout.  Primary  education  in  the  hill 
districts  is  of  a different  type. 

11  Teacher. 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  89 

The  Middle  Schools,  partly  English  and  partly 
only  vernacular,  are  some  twenty  in  number, 
varying  in  type  from  a long  established  school 
such  as  the  Alexandra  Girls’  School  at  Mymen- 
singh,  with  ten  teachers,  and  a Headmistress 
from  the  Isabella  Thoburn  College,12  to  one  which 
has  only  six  scholars  beyond  the  Primary  stage 
and  one  mistress,  but  which  must  be  raised  in 
standard  and  type  for  the  sake  of  the  district. 
The  generosity  of  the  native  landowners  is  to  be 
noted  in  connection  with  these  schools  ; in  two 
cases  a whole  new  building  and  site  have  been 
acquired  in  this  way. 

All  roads  lead  to  Mecca,  and  all  pursuit  of 
higher  education  in  Eastern  Bengal  tends  to  the 
Eden  Girls’  High  School,  Dacca,  where,  under  the 
supervision  of  Miss  Lena  Sorabji,  the  portals  of 
Calcutta  University  are  successfully  reached. 
This  school  is  the  Model  High  School  for  the 
province,  the  two  others  at  Chittagong  and 
Mymensingh  are  not  as  yet  so  efficiently  staffed 
or  equipped,  though  that  at  Chittagong  holds  its 
own  at  the  Matriculation  examination.  There 
are  some  two  hundred  girls  in  the  Eden  High 
School,  mostly  Hindu,  with  a fair  proportion  of 
Brahma  Samaj  and  Mohammedan  girls,  including 
also  a few  Christians.  The  curriculum  is  that  of 
a first-class  English  High  school  in  its  relation  to 
the  Matriculation  subjects.  In  the  lower  classes 
the  scientific  principles  of  education  are  in  full 
vogue,  story  and  group  method,  with  an  excellent 

12  cf ■ P-  137- 


90  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Kindergarten  apparatus.  The  teachers  are 
mostly  Indian  with  three  Anglo-Indians,  and  there 
is  also  a very  efficient  music  ’mistress.  Moral 
instruction  is  given,  and  there  is  throughout  an 
excellent  tone.  It  is  possible  to  attend  the  school 
and  keep  strict  par  da,  a young  Begum  has 
recently  been  assigned  to  it  by  the  Court  of  Wards 
in  order  to  complete  her  education.  A very 
important  feature  of  the  school  is  the  Training 
department,  in  which  teachers  are  trained 
for  the  Bengali-speaking  parts  of  the  province. 
(Assamese  teachers  are  trained  at  Nowgong  and 
the  Hill  Districts  in  Shillong.)  Training  is  given 
free  on  condition  of  teaching  in  a Government 
school  for  two  years  thereafter.  There  is  both 
an  English  and  a Vernacular  course,  and  the  effect 
of  the  latter  can  be  seen  in  such  schools  as  the 
Primary  school  sketched  above.  There  are  three 
students  at  present  in  the  English  department, 
and  twenty-two  in  the  Vernacular.  Any  girls 
passing  the  Matriculation  examination  from  here 
are  certain  of  Government  scholarships,  or 
“ stipends  ” as  they  are  called,  to  the  University 
of  Calcutta.  The  only  drawback  at  present  is 
the  lack  of  space,  but  plans  are  already  de- 
finitely formed,  and  a site  secured  for  new 
buildings,  which  will  ultimately  include  a College 
department. 

But  when  all  is  said,  it  is  only  an  infinitesimal 
fraction  of  the  female  community  which  is  touched 
by  the  Middle  and  High  schools.  The  fourth 
sphere  of  the  Committee’s  work,  the  organizing 


A High  School  Class,  Eastern  Bengal 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam  91 

of  a definite  system  of  parda  instruction,  is  there- 
fore in  some  ways  the  most  important.  Many 
important  and  far-reaching  influences  are  at  work 
behind  the  veil,  and  it  is  here,  too,  that  the  influence 
of  the  Education  Committee  must  be  felt.  A 
comparison  of  the  numbers  attending  Primary 
schools  (84,798)  with  those  attending  High  and 
Middle  schools  (1846),  shows  how  limited  is  the 
school  period  for  the  average  girl.  The  parda 
instruction  to  a certain  extent  supplements  the 
education  of  those  children  who  are  withdrawn 
for  marriage  at  about  ten  years  of  age.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  the  number  of  girls  of  school  age 
at  school  is  only  3%,  a certain  amount  of  this 
work  is  amongst  the  absolutely  illiterate  older 
women,  though  the  minimum  age  of  ten  prevents 
overlapping  with  the  Primary  schools.  A further 
aim  is  to  create  a more  friendly  atmosphere  in 
the  zenanas  towards  the  whole  question  of  educa- 
tion. In  some  cases  it  is  an  immediately  fruitful 
work,  in  others  a sowing  of  seed  for  the  future. 
There  are  now  some  600  girls  and  women  under 
instruction  of  this  type  in  seven  different  towns, 
the  classes  in  Dacca  being  most  fully  developed. 
Here  there  are  four  governesses  at  work,  each 
with  six  centres  to  teach.  Two  of  them  are 
Mohammedans,  one  Brahma  Samaj,  and  one 
Christian,  the  last  under  missionary  super- 
intendence. The  education  given  is  of  the 
simplest  type,  including,  however,  in  some  cases 
drawing,  painting,  history,  and  geography. 
Indeed  when  the  circumstances  are  taken  into 


92  Education  of  Women  of  India 

consideration  it  could  hardly  be  otherwise  ; the 
classes  are  held  in  the  houses  of  progressive  men, 
rich  or  poor,  and  consist  as  a rule  solely  of  the 
women  of  the  household  and  their  immediate 
neighbours,  the  numbers  varying  from  six  to 
about  twenty.  The  ages  of  the  pupils  vary  from 
eight  to  fifty,  all  are  at  different  stages,  all  are 
irregular  in  attendance,  many  are  accompanied 
by  babies,  and  the  class  generally  ends  in 
individual  instruction.  Yet  progress  is  being 
made,  and  it  is  good  to  see  the  group  of  daintily 
dressed  women  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  teacher 
who  forms  their  link  with  the  outer  world.  A 
very  great  deal  depends  on  her  personality  and 
skill  in  overcoming  prejudice.  One  of  the  teachers 
is  a Mohammedan  lady  of  good  position,  the  wife 
of  a pleader ; she  drives  in  strict  ftarda  to  and 
from  her  work,  and  has  naturally  inspired  other 
strict  Mohammedans  with  confidence  in  the 
scheme.  Recently  an  English  governess  has  begun 
work  in  Dacca  under  the  Committee,  but  in  her 
case  there  is  a binding  fee  of  five  rupees  for  every 
family  who  employs  her.  The  system  is  one  which 
is  peculiarly  adapted  to  Eastern  Bengal  with  its 
strict  farda  customs,  and  though  expensive  to 
Government,13  is  in  the  meantime  more  than 
worth  while  in  its  indirect  influence  in  breaking 
down  prejudice  and  supplementing  the  whole 
system  of  instruction. 

13  50  rupees  per  month  in  addition  to  25  rupees  gari- 
allowance  is  given  to  each  governess  and  the  pupils  do 
not  contribute  much. 


93 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam 

Education  in  the  Hill  Districts  reveals  a some- 
what different  problem.  There  is  no  par  da, 
co-education  is  frequent,  and  suits  the  customs  of 
the  people.  A Lushai  writer  dealing  with  this 
says  : “ The  men  and  women  are  all  on  the  same 
footing,  except  in  some  cases,  where  the  women 
are  master.”  In  the  hill  tracts  of  Assam,  some 
2551  girls  are  studying  in  boys’  schools  and  701 
in  separate  girls’  schools,  practically  all  of  the 
latter  and  a large  proportion  of  the  former  are 
worked  by  the  missions,  which  are  doing  excellent 
service  to  education.  The  schools  are  much 
appreciated,  and  the  Government  grant  of  4022 
rupees  to  the  mission  schools  is  almost  equalled 
by  the  contributions  of  the  people  themselves. 
Special  arrangements  are  being  made  by  Govern- 
ment with  the  American  Baptist  Mission  at 
Nowgong  for  the  training  of  Government  teachers 
in  the  Mission  Training  School.  In  some  parts 
education  is  absolutely  at  a standstill ; for 
example,  in  the  Mikir  hills,  “ female  education 
is  supposed  to  have  perished  fifteen  years  ago 
with  the  death  of  its  only  representative,  a young 
girl  of  Nowgong ! ” In  Chittagong  Hill  District 
the  opposition  is  that  of  a wild  uncivilized  people. 
A boarding  school  is  the  only  possiblity,  but  that 
seems  too  terrible  ! The  parents  are  half-civilized, 
and  will  send  a child  for  one  month  and  withdraw 
her  the  next ; the  children,  moreover,  have  their 
own  way.  “ If  the  parents  say  their  girl  shall  go 
to  school,  and  she  says  ‘ I will  not,’  she  does  not 
go.”  There  are  at  present  seven  precious  pupils 


94  Education  of  Women  of  India 

in  the  Mission  Girls’  school  at  Chandra  Ghona. 
In  Tippera  there  is  much  opposition.  Twenty- 
five  girls  are,  however,  reported  in  three  mission 
schools  in  the  latter  district.  An  interesting 
account  of  indigenous  schools  comes  from  a lady 
missionary  working  in  one  of  the  hill  districts  : 
“ There  are  some  small  Primary  independent  village 
schools  taught  by  Hindu  men  or  women  voluntarily. 
Some  of  these  receive  Government  aid,  and  some 
do  not.  The  parents  of  the  scholars  contribute 
a little  towards  the  teacher’s  support,  and  supply 
the  school-house.  It  is  generally  believed  that 
the  visits  of  a missionary  to  such  schools  lend 
prestige  to  them,  and  the  children  are  encouraged 
to  attend  by  the  small  rewards  given  by  the 
missionary  for  attendance  and  Scripture  know- 
ledge. Hence  such  scholars  invariably  wel- 
come regular  visits.”  The  main  problems  are 
those  of  co-education,  the  training  of  teachers, 
and  the  multiplicity  of  dialects.  Steps  are 
also  being  taken  to  develop  weaving  and  local 
industries  in  many  parts  for  the  less  advanced 
tribes. 

Such  in  brief  outline  is  the  Government  policy 
for  female  education.  How  far  is  it  a living 
reality  ? “ The  moment  imagination  has  gone 

out  of  your  Asiatic  policy,  your  Empire  will 
divide  and  decay.”  14  How  far  is  there  imagina- 
tion in  the  educational  policy  ? How  far  is 
it  magnetic,  flexible,  and  inspiring  ? A policy, 
of  necessity,  is  reflected  by  the  persons  who 
14  Indian  Speeches.  Lord  Curzon. 


95 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam 

administer  it,  the  inspectorate  and  teaching 
staffs,  the  organizing  Committee,  and  the  general 
social  attitude  of  the  community.  The  task  of 
the  Inspectorate  is  no  easy  one,  and  the  word  calls 
up  visions  of  many  successive  nights  spent  in 
bullock  carts,  in  trains,  and  on  horseback  to  reach 
the  inaccessible  parts  of  an  inaccessible  province, 
a multitude  of  detail,  and  little  time  to  relate  it 
consciously  to  the  underlying  principles.  To  the 
casual  onlooker  taking  into  account  the  general 
social  conditions  of  Indian  life,  it  hardly  seems 
work  which  a woman  should  do,  and  yet  it  is 
work  which  must  be  done  by  women.  Indian 
girls  can  only  be  well  taught  by  women,  and  this 
necessitates  a female  Inspectorate  at  least  for 
the  upper  grades.  From  1908  to  1911  there  was 
only  one  Inspectress  in  the  province,  and  in  1909 
two  assistant  Inspectresses  were  appointed ; an 
additional  appointment  has,  however,  recently 
been  made  for  the  Chittagong  and  Surma  Valley 
Districts.  A further  increase  would  greatly 
facilitate  the  development  of  the  work,  and  would 
probably  repay  in  efficiency  the  extra  expense. 
There  is  a great  deal  written  and  said  about  the 
denationalizing  influence  of  education,  and  the 
need  for  bringing  our  system  into  touch  with 
Indian  thought  and  Indian  life.  More  especially 
in  the  present  case,  when  a new  policy  is  being 
shaped,  there  is  need  for  flexibility  in  the  system 
and  an  Inspectorate  closely  in  touch  with  the 
inner  side  of  Indian  home-life.  What  should  an 
Indian  girl  know  ? What  will  fit  her  best  to  hold 


g6  Education  of  Women  of  India 

aright  her  true  place  ; what  will  render  her  happier 
and  more  intelligent,  retaining  her  Sita-like 
devotion  and  her  gentle  bearing  ? The  planning 
of  a curriculum  and  teacher’s  manual  in  relation 
to  this  aim  is  no  easy  task,  and  it  remains  to  be 
seen  whether  the  new  manuals,  the  work  of  the 
first  Inspectress,  will  have  fulfilled  these  demands. 
Some  women  are  born  teachers,  and  some  have 
teaching  thrust  upon  them.  In  India  the  old 
ideal  of  teaching  is  that  of  a vocation  ; the  bread 
of  life  is  given  freely  by  those  who  have  to  those 
who  have  not.  Modern  conditions  have  of  neces- 
sity modified  this  ideal  to  a certain  extent,  but 
its  spirit  is  still  needed.  The  great  scarcity  of 
women  teachers,  and  consequent  certainty  of 
employment,  tends  to  lower  the  standard  of  char- 
acter and  efficiency.  The  teacher  who  will  only 
do  her  own  “ kam,” 15  and  not  lend  a helping  hand 
to  others,  who  is  ever  listening  for  the  stroke  of  the 
clock,  who  is  quick  to  take  offence  and  ill  to  con- 
ciliate, is  known  in  this  province  as  elsewhere. 
The  lack  of  a common  religious  basis  as  a ground 
of  appeal  is  undoubtedly  felt ; the  establishment 
of  Teacher’s  Associations  in  the  urban  centres, 
and,  where  possible,  of  the  Young  Women’s 
Christian  Association  Teachers  Union,  might  be 
useful.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  very  few  of  the 
teachers  are  not  drawn  from  the  families  of  upper 
class  ; the  work  done  by  one  of  the  Mohammedan 
governesses  in  Dacca  is  an  evidence  of  what  can 
be  accomplished  in  this  way  even  without  scientific 

15  Work.  “ It  is  not  my  work  ” is  a common  excuse. 


97 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam 

training.  There  are,  however,  some  splendid 
Indian  women  teachers,  contact  with  whom  is  an 
inspiration,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  influence 
of  the  training  classes  in  the  Eden  High  School 
at  Nowgong  and  at  Shillong  may  gradually  raise 
the  general  tone.  Here,  as  in  Burma,  is  the  great 
means  of  counteracting  anglicizing  influences ; 
education  is  the  communication  of  personality, 
and  the  ideal  Indian  school  of  the  future  must 
have  Indian  teachers.  The  instilling  of  the 
principles  of  educational  science  and  of  true 
culture  in  Indian  teachers,  until  these  are  no 
longer  slavishly  reproduced  but  lived  and  worked 
out  in  relation  to  Indian  environment,  is  the  task 
of  the  Western  educator. 

The  success  of  any  policy  depends  upon  how 
closely  it  is  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of  the  com- 
munity, and  the  wisdom  of  connecting  a local 
committee  with  the  management  of  every  Middle 
and  High  school  is  unquestioned ; these  Com- 
mittees are  supposed  to  consist  of  equal  numbers 
of  men  and  women,  and  indeed  the  Government 
grant  is  often  given  only  on  condition  of  there 
being  an  efficient  working  Committee.  There 
are  also  ladies’  committees  in  connection  with  the 
zenana  classes  in  the  urban  centres.  It  has, 
however,  been  exceedingly  difficult  to  secure  the 
necessary  ladies  for  this  work,  for  the  supply  of 
educated  Indian  ladies  is  very  limited,  and  English 
women,  because  of  the  shortness  of  their  stay  in 
any  one  district,  are  unwilling  to  undertake  it. 
Some  of  the  officials’  wives  have,  however,  given 

G 


g8  Education  of  Women  of  India 

splendid  service  in  this  way,  and  even  if  it  is  only 
a passing  service  it  is  more  than  worth  while. 
The  work  of  these  committees  in  the  breaking 
down  of  social  prejudice  and  ensuring  the  con- 
fidence of  the  community  is  untold.  There  is, 
as  has  been  already  said,  a definite  connection 
between  parda  parties  and  school  attendance. 
The  parda  party  as  a social  institution  in  other 
provinces  has  come  to  stay.  It  is  perhaps  a pity 
that  here  it  has  had  a certain  shadow  cast  upon  it 
of  officialdom  and  organization.  The  spontaneous 
and  individual  effort  is  quickly  felt  and  appreci- 
ated by  Indian  ladies.  It  must  come  also  from  a 
genuine  and  mutual  desire  for  intercourse  and  not 
from  any  sous-entendu  motive  of  pity  or  “ bridge 
the  gulf  ” idea.  Indian  ladies  have  their  own 
contribution  to  make  to  the  unifying  of  ideals 
not  only  between  Indian  and  English,  but  between 
Indian  and  Indian.  “ The  less  said  about  parda 
parties  and  the  more  held,”  is  probably  a wise 
dictum.  The  work  on  some  of  the  educational 
sub-committees  will,  however,  often  give  an 
English  lady  the  direct  contact  with  Indian  life 
which  is  so  much  needed. 

The  outlook  for  women’s  education  throughout 
the  province  is  in  many  respects  a hopeful  one  ; 
enthusiasts  are  working  at  it,  there  is  a steadily 
increasing  flow  of  girls  coming  to  the  schools  ; a 
teaching  staff  is  gradually  being  built  up,  suit- 
able text-books  and  manuals  are  being  produced. 
The  generosity  of  a Government,  hampered  by 
finance  in  every  way,  to  this  scheme,  is  a stamp 


99 


Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam 

of  warm  approval.  No  great  social  undertaking, 
however,  is  fulfilled  in  haste,  and  least  of  all 
where  sympathy  and  the  silent  influence  of 
individual  friendship  are  needed  to  pave  the 
way  for  it. 


V 


BENGAL 

“ My  Motherland,  I sing 
Her  splendid  streams,  her  glorious  trees, 

The  zephyr  from  the  far-off  Vindyan  heights, 

Her  fields  of  waving  corn, 

The  rapturous  radiance  of  her  moonlit  nights, 
The  trees  in  flower  that  flame  afar, 

The  smiling  days  that  sweetly  vocal  are, 

The  happy,  blessed  Motherland.” 

Translation  by  W.  H.  Lee,  I.C.S. 

ONE  of  the  subtlest  problems  of  sociology 
is  to  trace  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect  in  new  conditions  of  life  affecting 
a community.  Here  in  Bengal  is  a certain  group 
of  people  calling  themselves  “ a new  nation  ” ; 
here  is  a new  thought-centre  by  turns  indefinite, 
immature,  bombastic,  tentative,  yet  possessing  a 
certain  unity  and  aspiring  after  certain  definite 
ideals,  and  together  with  it,  in  part  as  cause,  in 
part  as  effect,  is  the  steady  educational  advance 
of  certain  sections  of  the  community.  There  is 
little  geographical  unity,  for  the  term  “ Bengal  ” 
has  been  of  varying  content,  comprising  in  the 
early  days  all  the  East  India  Company’s  pos- 
sessions in  Northern  India ; after  1836  a more 


100 


IOI 


Bengal 

definite  and  limited  area,  and  finally 1 in  1905  re- 
duced, broadly  speaking,  to  Bihar,  Chota  Nagpore, 
Orissa  and  the  section  of  Bengal  proper  which  lies 
west  of  the  Ganges  and  the  Hooghly.  Ethnically, 
a mixture  of  Dravidian,  Mongolian  and  Aryan 
elements,  even  linguistic  unity,  is  lacking,  Bengali, 
Hindi,  Bihari  and  Oriya,  with  their  corresponding 
dialects  being  the  languages  mainly  in  use.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  all,  the  Bengali  claim  of  unity  is  there 
in  virtue  of  their  education,  and  in  virtue  of  the 
“ high  proportion  of  literacy  that  exists  in  Bengal 
compared  with  most  parts  of  India.”  Linguistic- 
ally again,  Bengali,  though  only  the  native  tongue 
of  some  52% 2 of  the  population,  has  become  a 
modern  literary  language,  and  as  such  is  a strong 
factor  for  unity  and  progress.  It  is  true  that 
those  conscious  of  this  unity  who  express  them- 
selves variously  in  congresses,  in  journalism,  in 
sedition,  or  in  loyal  Government  service  are 
doubtless  a minority,  but  they  are  an  increasing 
element,  and  one  which  may  assert  itself  more  in 
the  future.  The  political  side  of  this  movement 
is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  book,  its  existence 
cannot,  however,  be  ignored  as  it  is  one  of  the 
causes  of  the  tide  which  is  slowly  setting  in 
favour  of  the  education  of  women. 

All  the  same  obstacles  and  difficulties  which 
we  have  studied  in  Eastern  Bengal,  and  some 
even  more  hard  to  surmount,  are  to  be  found 
here.  Seventy-eight  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 

1 Cf.  Note  Chap.  IV,  p.  78. 

2 Imperial  Gazetteer  of  India — Volume  Bengal. 


102  Education  of  Women  of  India 

tion  are  Hindus  and  the  consequent  custom 
of  marriage  below  the  age  of  ten  years  cuts 
short  the  possible  period  of  school  attendance 
for  girls.  One  woman  in  every  five  is  a 
widow,  and  yet  custom  and  prejudice  prevent 
this  numerous  class  from  entering  the  teaching 
profession,  as  is  the  case  with  many  spinsters 
at  home.  Ninety-four  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion live  in  scattered  villages,  and  this  increases 
the  financial  difficulty  of  providing  sufficient 
accessible  schools  for  girls  whose  parents  are 
unwilling  and  often  unable  to  pay  anything.  A 
strong  prejudice  against  the  whole  idea  of  the 
education  of  girls  still  exists,  and  though  syste- 
matic efforts  are  made  to  overcome  this,  they 
often  lead  to  no  result,  as  is  testified  in  the  report 
of  a Mohammedan  gentleman  of  good  position 
engaged  by  Government  to  popularize  education 
among  his  co-religionists  in  Bihar.  It  often  seems 
as  if  all  effort  to  overcome  this  prejudice  were 
unavailing.  Yet  in  the  face  of  all  this  there  is  a 
strong  body  of  Indian  opinion  which  emphasizes 
in  speech  and  in  the  press  the  need  and  advisa- 
bility of  female  education.  The  Brahma-Samaj , 
one  of  the  reform  Indian  sects  much  tinged  by 
Christian  thought,  gives  every  opportunity  of 
education  to  its  women,  and  has  thus  an  influence 
out  of  all  proportion  to  its  numbers 3 in  the 
province.  By  the  extremely  orthodox  Hindu  it 
is  looked  upon  with  the  same  suspicion  as  Christi- 
anity, and  yet  its  tenets  of  liberty  and  equality 
3 Only  3171  in  the  1901  Census. 


Bengal  103 

for  womanhood  have  a direct  bearing  on  the 
general  par  da  conditions,  especially  in  the  cities, 
so  that,  while  the  overwhelming  proportion  of 
girls  over  twelve  years  of  age  in  school  is  Christian 
or  Brahma- Samaj,  the  influence  of  a new  move- 
ment is  beginning  to  make  itself  felt.  An 
occasional  Moslem  girl,  to  whom  a Government 
“ stipend  ” has  been  awarded  for  her  encourage- 
ment, is  to  be  seen  in  the  higher  classes,  or  a young 
Hindu  widow,  who  has  been  allowed  to  return 
to  school  to  fit  herself  for  a useful  life. 

Historically  this  movement  in  the  Indian  com- 
munity is  the  result  of  the  work  of  Christian 
missions,  which  have  been  consistently  the  leaders 
both  in  producing  a high  educational  standard 
amongst  the  Christian  women  and  in  affording 
facilities  to  any  others  who  would  come  to  their 
schools.  The  Maharani  of  Baroda  gives  a fitting 
tribute  in  her  recent  book  4 to  Miss  Cook  and 
Lady  Amherst  as  the  two  pioneers  of  women’s 
education  in  all  India.  Some  share  of  this 
should  also  be  given  to  Mrs  Marshman,  under 
whose  instigation  a society  for  the  Education  of 
Native  Females  was  founded  in  Calcutta  in  1819. 
In  the  same  year  the  first  modern  girls’  school 
in  all  India  was  opened  under  its  auspices.  By 
1821  thirty-two  pupils  were  in  attendance. 
Though  the  Baptists  were  the  first  to  actually 
start  instruction,  a parallel  movement  had  been 
made  by  a united  committee  of  British  and 

4 Position  of  Women  in  Indian  Life.  Her  Highness  the 
Maharani  of  Baroda.  Cf.  also  Chap.  II,  p.  36. 


104  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Hindu  men.  This  Calcutta  School  Society  was 
founded  in  1818  to  advance  the  education  of  both 
boys  and  girls,  and  on  its  invitation  Miss  Cook 
left  England  to  open  a school  for  Hindu  girls  in 
Calcutta.  The  courage  of  the  Hindu  members  of 
the  committee,  however,  failed  them  when  it 
came  to  the  actual  starting  of  the  school. 
“ Although  they  had  spoken  well  while  yet  the 
matter  was  at  a distance  and  in  the  region  of 
theory,  they  recoiled  from  the  obloquy  of  so  rude 
an  assault  on  time-honoured  custom.  The  Babus 
had  been  brought  up  to  the  talking-point,  but  not 
to  the  acting-point.”  5 India  thus  lost  the  honour 
of  a direct  share  in  the  first  Western  education  of 
her  women.  Miss  Cook  was  fortunately  able  to 
transfer  her  services  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  and  opened  her  first  school  in  1822.  The 
dramatic  circumstances  of  this  are  worth  quoting 
in  full : 6 — 

“ Whilst  engaged  in  studying  the  Bengali 
language,  and  scarcely  daring  to  hope  that  an 
immediate  opening  for  entering  upon  the  work, 
to  which  she  had  devoted  herself,  would  be  found. 
Miss  Cook  paid  a visit  to  one  of  the  native  schools 
for  boys,  in  order  to  observe  their  pronunciation  ; 
and  this  circumstance,  trifling  as  it  may  appear, 
led  to  the  opening  of  her  first  school  in  Thun- 
thuniya.  Unaccustomed  to  see  a European  lady 
in  that  part  of  the  native  town,  a crowd  collected 
round  the  door  of  the  school.  Amongst  them  was 
an  interesting  looking  girl,  whom  the  school 
6 Calcutta  Review,  1855. 


Bengal  105 

pandit  drove  away.  Miss  Cook  desired  the  child 
to  be  called,  and  by  an  interpreter  asked  her  if 
she  wished  to  learn  to  read.  She  was  told  in 
reply  that  this  child  had  for  three  months  past 
been  daily  begging  to  learn  to  read  with  the  boys, 
and  that  if  Miss  Cook  (who  had  made  known  her 
purpose  of  devoting  herself  to  the  instruction  of 
native  girls)  would  attend  next  day,  twenty  girls 
should  be  collected.  Accompanied  by  a female 
friend  conversant  with  the  language,  she  repeated 
her  visit  on  the  morrow  and  found  fifteen  girls, 
several  of  whom  had  their  mothers  with  them. 
Their  natural  inquisitiveness  prompted  them  to 
inquire  what  could  be  Miss  Cook’s  motive  for 
coming  amongst  them.  They  were  told  that  she 
had  heard  in  England  that  the  women  of  their 
country  were  kept  in  total  ignorance,  that  they 
were  not  taught  to  read  or  write,  that  the  men 
only  were  allowed  to  attain  any  degree  of  know- 
ledge, and  it  was  also  generally  understood  that 
the  chief  obstacle  to  their  improvement  was  that 
no  females  would  undertake  to  teach  them  ; she 
had  therefore  felt  compassion  for  them,  and  had 
left  her  country,  her  parents,  and  friends  to  help 
them.  The  mothers  with  one  voice  cried  out, 
smiting  themselves  with  their  right  hands,  ‘ Oh 
what  a pearl  of  a woman  is  this  ! ’ It  was  added, 
‘ she  has  given  up  every  earthly  expectation,  to 
come  here,  and  seeks  not  the  riches  of  the  world, 
but  desires  only  to  promote  our  best  interests.’ 

‘ Our  children  are  yours,  we  give  them  to  you.’ 
‘ What  will  be  the  use  of  learning  to  our  girls,  and 


106  Education  of  Women  of  India 

what  good  will  it  do  to  them  ? ’ They  were  told : — 
‘ It  will  make  them  more  useful  in  their  families, 
and  increase  their  knowledge,  and  it  was  hoped 
that  it  would  also  tend  to  give  them  respect  and 
produce  harmony  in  their  families.’ — ‘ True,’  said 
one  of  them,  ‘ our  husbands  now  look  upon  us  as 
little  better  than  brutes.’  Another  asked,  ‘ What 
benefit  will  you  derive  from  this  work  ? ’ She 
was  told  that  the  only  return  wished  for  was  to 
promote  their  best  interest  and  happiness.  Then 
said  the  woman,  ‘ I suppose  this  is  a holy  work, 
and  well  pleasing  to  God.’  As  they  were  not  able 
to  understand  much,  it  was  only  said  in  return 
that  God  was  always  well  pleased  that  His  servants 
should  do  good  to  their  fellow  creatures.  The 
women  then  spoke  to  each  other  in  terms  of  the 
highest  approbation  of  what  had  passed.” 

In  the  course  of  1822  eight  schools  were 
established,  attended  more  or  less  regularly  by 
214  girls.  The  Marchioness  of  Hastings  also 
created  a deep  impression  by  personally  visiting 
many  of  the  back  alleys  of  the  city,  and  during 
the  last  two  years  of  her  stay  in  India  her 
enthusiasm  did  much  to  allay  prejudice.  In 
1824  the  Ladies’  Society  for  Female  Native 
Education  was  formed  through  the  efforts  of 
Miss  Cook  (now  Mrs  Wilson),  and  a handsome 
central  school  was  erected,  to  which  Indian 
gentlemen,  notably  Raja  Buddinath  Roy,  con- 
tributed largely.  Lady  Amherst  was  the  first 
President  of  the  new  society.  Dr  Duff,  com- 
menting on  the  situation  some  twenty  years  later, 


Bengal  107 

marks  the  wisdom  of  the  middle  course  between 
the  “ impossible  ” and  the  “ all  things  possible  ” 
party,  the  courage  of  those  who  were  willing  to 
begin  with  “ here  and  there  a few.”  While  he 
held  that  the  education  of  the  men  of  India  must 
precede  the  education  of  the  women,  on  any 
great  scale,  he  looked  forward  to  the  time  when 
“ there  would  be  a wide  and  spontaneous  demand 
for  female  education  by  thousands  and  ten 
thousands.  Then  indeed  would  dawn  upon 
India  the  golden  age  of  education.”  6 

It  is  a far  cry  from  those  days  to  the  Calcutta 
of  to-day  with  its  seven  High  schools,  five  of  which 
have  college  departments,  its  Training  College, 
its  Female  Inspectorate,  and  a Government  eager 
to  do  anything  to  promote  what  it  regards  as  a 
main  social  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
country.  The  “ rising  tide  ” may  be  best  studied 
in  comparative  percentages. 7 As  in  Eastern 
Bengal,  three  forces  are  working  here  for  the 

6 Address  on  Female  Education  in  India,  1839,  delivered 
by  Dr  Duff  at  the  First  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Scottish 
Ladies’  Association. 

7 Percentage  of  girls  of  school  age  at  school. 


1881  . . . 0.87 

1891  . . . 1.61 

1901  . . .1.8 

1910  . . .4-3 


The  total  number  of  girls  under  instruction  is  now 

17L569. 

Imperial  Gazetteer.  Bengal  Public  Instruction  Report, 
1910. 


Management  of  Schools  for  Indian  Girls  in  Bengal,  1909-1910 


108  Education  of  Women  of  India 


Bengal  Public  Instruction  Report — Statistics  pages  4 and  32. 


Bengal  109 

education  of  women,  the  Government,  spon- 
taneous Indian  effort,  and  the  missionary  societies, 
and  a brief  analysis  of  these  with  their  varying 
types  and  functions  may  serve  to  throw  light  on 
the  general  situation  with  its  problems  and 
possibilities. 

The  Government  system  is  a somewhat 
different  one  from  that  employed  in  the  newer 
province  of  Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam,  and 
may  be  taken  as  the  normal  one  in  the 
various  provinces  of  India.  The  work  is 
directly  under  the  Director  of  Public  Instruction, 
and  forms  a separate  section  of  the  ordinary 
Educational  Department.  There  are  two  In- 
spectresses, who  are  members  of  the  Indian 
Educational  Service,  but  a large  proportion 
of  the  inspection  in  the  country  districts  is 
of  necessity  done  by  the  ordinary  Inspectors. 
Eastern  Bengal  has  here  the  advantage  of 
newer  and  more  plastic  organization.  The 
Government  policy  is  rather  to  aid  voluntary 
schools  than  to  launch  out  on  schemes  of  its  own  ; 
its  influence  is  mostly  felt  as  a unifying  agency  by 
means  of  Code,  standard  of  examination  and 
inspection,  and  as  presenting  occasionally  model 
types  to  which  the  voluntary  schools  may  or  may 
not  think  it  wise  to  conform.  Thus  less  than 
one  in  twenty-eight  of  all  girls’  institutions  are 
entirely  under  public  management,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  accompanying  table.  A slight 
divergence  from  this  policy  may,  however,  be  noted 
in  the  increase  of  Primary  schools  directly  under 


i io  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Government  control  from  one  in  1907  to  eighty- 
six  in  1910.8 

The  Bethune  Girls’  College  and  High  School, 
Calcutta,  founded  in  1849,  may  be  taken  as  a type 
of  a model  Government  institution.9  Situated 
near  Hadua  Talau  in  the  heart  of  the  native  city, 
like  all  city  schools  it  suffers  from  lack  of  space. 
There  is  a fine  pillared  verandah  through  which 
one  enters  into  an  open  court.  Into  this  court 
open  all  the  class-rooms.  A characteristic  feature 
is  a very  fine  and  spacious  library  well  stocked 
with  the  classics  of  East  and  West.  At  the  time 
of  my  visit  several  girls  were  sitting  at  work  in  it. 
A marked  difference  between  Indian  girls’  High 
schools  and  those  at  home  is  that  many  of  the 
former  in  the  ftarda  districts  aim  at  having  a 
College  Department,  which  is  affiliated  to  the 
University  and  in  which  girls  are  prepared  up  to 
the  B.A.  stage.  The  merits  of  this  system  will 
be  discussed  elsewhere.10  In  the  Bethune  College 
Department  there  are  about  thirty-five  students, 
and  in  the  school  proper  some  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  ranging  in  age  from  tiny  girls  of  five  or  six 
to  the  Matriculation  candidates  of  sixteen  years 
and  upwards.  The  lower  classes  are  extremely 
crowded,  and  there  is  the  falling  off  in  the  upper 
school  which  is  so  characteristic  of  India.  This 
presents  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  in  the 
education  of  Indian  women.  The  aim  being  to 
fit  the  pupils  for  life,  and  to  train  them  to  think, 

8 Imperial  Gazetteer.  9 Cf.  Chap.  II,  p.  36. 

10  Cf.  Chap.  IX. 


1 1 1 


Bengal 

how  can  it  possibly  be  accomplished  in  the  three 
short  years  which  in  the  majority  of  cases  is  all 
the  time  available  ? In  the  High  school  proper 
the  assumption  is  that  the  girls  will  stay  on,  and 
the  Bethune  curriculum  is  shaped  accordingly. 
There  is  a good  Kindergarten,  and  all  the  modern 
plant  to  make  an  efficient  school ; the  great 
drawback,  as  usual,  is  the  lack  of  trained  teachers, 
only  one  of  the  whole  staff  having  full  qualifica- 
tions. Indian  music  is  well  taught  as  an  extra 
subject,  and  it  was  a pretty  sight  to  see  some 
half-dozen  girls  accompanying  the  harmonium 
with  violin,  escar,  and  zitta.  The  school  owes  its 
success  to  two  factors,  first  the  personality  of  its 
former  Head-mistress,  Miss  Bose,  the  first  woman 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Calcutta,  and 
secondly  to  the  eagerness  with  which  the  Brahma 
Samaj  welcomed  this  move  on  the  part  of  the 
Government.  The  girls  in  the  higher  classes  are 
practically  all  from  the  Brahma  Samaj,  so  much 
so  that  perhaps  this  influence  is  almost  too 
predominant.  A little  Moslem  girl  who  had 
received  a special  Government  “ stipend  ” on 
account  of  her  religion,  had  recently  turned 
Brahmo,  but  the  Head-mistress  assured  us  that 
the  change  was  due  entirely  to  home  influences. 
There  is  a good  hostel  in  the  school  compound, 
for  which  there  are  always  more  applications  than 
available  vacancies,  and  arrangements  are  being 
made  for  the  more  complete  separation  of  the 
school  from  the  College  department. 

The  function  of  the  Inspectress  is  important, 


1 1 2 Education  of  Women  of  India 

and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  word  has  come 
to  suggest  destructive  rather  than  constructive 
criticism.  “ Training  ” is  a more  accurate 
description  of  the  work,  and  in  a country  where 
a large  proportion  of  the  teachers  are  untrained, 
it  well  repays  the  money  spent  thereon.  A visit 
often  means  three  days  spent  in  a village  helping 
the  teacher  to  a more  scientific  system.  Sugges- 
tions as  to  improvements  in  the  Code  ought  to 
come  from  the  Inspectress,  and  she  has  every 
opportunity  for  studying  the  conditions  of  the 
people  and  the  suitability  of  the  type  of  educa- 
tion offered.  To  consider  the  relative  value  of 
European  and  Indian  Inspectresses  is  at  the 
present  moment  of  purely  theoretical  interest. 
However  great  the  advantage  of  the  Indian  in 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  environment  and  of  the 
mental  characteristics  of  the  people,  it  is  difficult 
as  yet  to  procure  any  with  the  necessary  scientific 
qualifications  and  gift  of  organization.  The 
difficulties  of  travel  are  also  accentuated  for  the 
Indian  woman.  The  contribution  of  Indian 
thought  should  be  in  the  meantime  rather  in  the 
building  up  of  individual  schools,  with  ultimate 
constructive  influence  on  the  system  as  a 
whole. 

The  indigenous  and  spontaneous  effort  of  the 
Indian  community  towards  the  education  of  their 
women  is  of  two  types,  that  of  the  Brahma  Samaj 
and  reform  societies,  and  that  of  the  orthodox 
sections.  The  former  is  very  much  in  line  with 
the  general  system  : the  Code  is  used,  and  where 


Bengal  113 

alternative  subjects  are  possible  there  is  more 
emphasis  laid  on  Sanskrit  than  in  mission  schools, 
but  as  a whole  it  is  not  strikingly  “ National.” 
The  Brahma  Girls’  High  School  in  Calcutta 
receives  a monthly  grant  of  five  hundred  Rupees 
and  is  a first  class  institution.  Their  Middle 
schools  are  mostly  English  in  contrast  to  the 
vernacular  mission  schools.  There  are  also  a 
few  Hindu  Primary  schools,  which  follow  the 
Government  Code.  It  is  to  the  orthodox  com- 
munities that  we  must  turn  to  find  the  distinct- 
ively Indian  note,  the  retention  of  which  in  any 
really  educative  scheme  presents  so  baffling  a 
problem.  Here  in  the  “ Mahakali  Pathshala  ” is 
a genuine  Indian  attempt  at  self-expression  in 
educational  ideals.  This  school  was  founded  in 
1893,  in  Calcutta,  by  " Her  Holiness  Mataji 
Maharani  Tapaswini,”  one  of  those  strange  women 
saints  who  flit  across  the  pages  of  Indian  history, 
freed  by  their  mystical  insight  and  rare  wisdom 
from  the  shackles  of  ordinary  Indian  womanhood. 
Hither  the  dainty  little  Hindu  maiden  of  the  upper 
castes  is  brought  in  a closed  gari  with  her  hands 
full  of  marigolds  and  other  blossoms,  to  learn  that 
school  is  but  a larger  home  where  the  mysteries 
and  ritual  of  worship  will  become  clear  to  her, 
where  she  too  will  lisp  the  monotonous  chant  to 
the  glory  of  the  gods,  and  sink  her  baby  soul  in 
meditation.  True,  there  is  a printed  curriculum 
on  the  wall,  which  says  that  Sanskrit,  Bengali, 
Moral  Text  Books  and  Arithmetic  are  to  be  studied 
in  six  classes,  but  what  matter  ! The  effort  which 

H 


1 14  Education  of  Women  of  India 

these  subjects  entail  is  ever  and  anon  relieved  by 
worship,  and  by  the  cooking  which  is  part  of 
worship.  Then  there  is  the  picture  of  Saraswati 
Devi,11  on  whom  “ as  the  Wonder  of  all  Wisdom 
one  meditateth  in  the  third  watch  of  the  night,” 
and  three  hundred  babies  ranging  from  three  to 
eight  years  of  age  will  daily  sway  their  little  bodies 
before  her  in  the  morning  ftuja}2  What  musical 
drill  is  in  the  Kindergarten  so  is  ftuja  to  the 
Patshala  pupils.  There  is  a special  prize  for  the 
best  performer  of  ftuja — a sari  and  a silver  pin  for 
every  little  Kumari 13  who  has  honoured  the  school 
with  her  presence.  The  teachers  are  mostly 
elderly  pandits,  to  whom  the  visit  of  the  Inspectress 
indicates  the  desire  of  Government  not  to  improve 
them,  but  to  copy  their  most  excellent  methods 
in  the  Government  schools  ! Regarded  from  a 
Western  point  of  view  the  education  is  nil ; the 
children  can  hardly  read  and  write  their  own 
language,  geography  and  arithmetic  are  practically 
absent,  and  there  is  no  attempt  to  develop  the 
mental  faculties  ; from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
orthodox  Hindu,  however,  it  is  probably  ideal ; 
the  girls  have  “ the  ancient  and  sacred  lore  of 
their  country  infused  into  them  and  their  lives 
are  modelled  after  the  ideal  Hindu  female  char- 
acters of  old.”  Herein  lies  the  real  value  to  the 
student  of  education  : there  is  no  gulf  between 

11  The  Goddess  of  Learning.  On  her  festival,  students 
will  pile  their  books  and  inkpots  before  the  shrines  in 
their  colleges  for  special  blessing. 

12  Worship.  13  Lady,  a title  of  respect. 


school  and  home,  and  the  child’s  own  environment 
and  its  hereditary  instincts  are  utilized  as  a basis, 
but  the  trouble  is  that  no  superstructure  is  built 
thereon.  Elsewhere  we  have  superstructure  but 
no  basis.  The  school  has  no  grant,  no  fees 
are  paid,  and  the  support  is  entirely  obtained 
from  subscriptions  from  the  Hindu  community. 
Extensively  the  influence  of  these  schools  is  not 
great.  There  are  nominally  twenty-three  branch 
schools  in  Bengal  and  Eastern  Bengal,  but  a 
branch  notified  in  the  report  is  not  always  found 
to  be  in  existence.  That  there  is  life  in  the  move- 
ment is  seen  by  the  fact  that  the  present  Head, 
the  Srimati  Mataji,  undertook  a tour  in  the 
Mofussil  and  districts  to  organize  branches.  “ She 
was  everywhere  well  received,  and  there  was 
evident  sense  of  relief  and  sympathy  of  the 
public  in  the  cause  of  female  education  under 
the  Mahakali  system.” 14  To  behold  orthodox 
Hinduism  sending  a woman  on  tour  in  the 
interests  of  education  is  indeed  to  realise  the 
Renaissance  of  the  East  ! But  “ relief  ” from 
what  ? Is  it  from  the  non-religious  character  of 
the  Government  system  ? 

The  third  and  most  potent  factor  in  the  educa- 
tional situation  is  the  missionary  one.  As  this 
was  the  first  in  the  field  one  would  expect  their 
work  to  be  more  highly  developed,  and  it  must 
also  be  remembered  that  the  Brahma  Samaj  is  an 
indirect  fruit  of  the  leavening  of  Christian  educa- 
tion. The  doctrine  of  equal  opportunity  for  man 
14  Report  of  the  Mahakali  Patshala. 


1 1 6 Education  of  Women  of  India 


and  woman  is  seen  at  work  in  the  comparative 
religious  statistics  of  girls  at  school. 

Primary  . 5,360  Indian  Christians  to  126,897  Non- 

Christians. 

Middle  . 1,382  Indian  Christians  to  1,430  Non- 

Christians. 

High  . 448  Indian  Christians  to  667  Non- 

Christians. 

As  the  returns  of  the  Bengal  census15  show 
only  319,384  Christians  in  a total  population 
of  52,668,269,  these  figures  referring  to  their 
daughters’  education  are  striking.  The  aim  of 
Christian  education  is  twofold,  the  building  up  of 
the  Christian  community  so  that  ultimately  the 
Indian  Church  may  be  a strong  social  factor,  and 
the  education  of  non-Christians  with  a view  to 
influencing  them  either  directly  or  indirectly  in 
favour  of  Christianity.  These  two  aims  are  com- 
bined in  most  mission  work  except  in  the  case  of 
most  of  the  girls’  Boarding  schools  where  a non- 
Christian  girl  is  naturally  the  exception.  Of  the 
eleven  High  schools  for  Indian  girls  in  the 
Province,  six  are  under  mission  management  and 
two  varying  types  may  be  noticed. 

The  Diocesan  High  school— -a  Government-aided 
institution  for  girls  under  the  management  of  the 
Clewer  Sisters,  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  best 
girls’  school  in  Calcutta.  The  reason  for  this  is  easy 
to  discover  in  the  personality  of  its  Principal, 
Sister  Mary  Victoria,  whose  aristocratic  idealism  (if 
the  words  may  be  combined)  determines  the  tone  of 

15  1911  Census.  Statistical  Abstract  of  British  India. 


Bengal  1 1 7 

the  whole  school.  In  India  the  personal  element 
counts  for  everything,  and  without  it,  the  best  of 
institutions  and  Government  plans  are  unavailing. 
Sister  Mary  Victoria  and  her  English  staff  are 
constantly  with  the  girls  and  when  the  school  was 
first  started  they  took  their  meals  with  the 
boarders  until  a tradition  of  manners  was  estab- 
lished. The  school  is  well  staffed  with  trained 
teachers  both  English  and  Indian,  the  former 
predominating.  An  English  lady  also  who  is 
interested  in  the  school  comes  regularly  to  teach 
brushwork.  There  is  an  excellent  College  De- 
partment. The  Government  curriculum  is 
followed,  and  in  addition  systematic  religious 
instruction  is  given  to  all  pupils.  The  ideal  of 
this  school  is  not,  however,  success  in  examina- 
tions only  and  their  shadow  does  not  lie  heavily. 
As  a small  pupil  remarked  to  the  writer  : “ There 
are  lots  of  girls  in  our  school  who  don’t  love 
examinations,  but  who  do  love  school.”  The 
pupils  are  drawn  from  various  ranks  and  creeds  ; 
the  boarders  are  mostly  Christian,  and  the 
majority  of  the  day  scholars  Hindu  and.  Brahma. 
The  leading  Indian  families  in  Calcutta  send  their 
girls  here,  and  to  the  Loretto  Convent,16  rather 
than  to  the  Bethune  School  because  of  the  personal 
contact  with  English  ladies.  The  daily  religious 
lesson  is  not  felt  as  a deterrent  in  any  way.  It  is 
curious  to  watch  these  girls  drive  up  to  the=school 
in  handsome  carriages  and  to  realize  that  they 

16  A school  under  the  English  Code,  where  only  15 
per  cent,  of  the  pupils  may  be  of  Indian  parentage. 


1 1 8 Education  of  Women  of  India 

are  only  paying  two  shillings  and  eight  pence  a 
month  for  a really  first  class  education.  Many 
of  the  richer  parents  give  donations  as  well,  but 
the  fee  is  kept  low  for  the  sake  of  the  poorer. 
These  fees  and  the  Government  grant  practically 
cover  the  working  expenses  of  the  school  apart 
from  the  support  of  the  English  staff.  There  are 
no  separate  schools  for  the  wealthier  classes 
worked  on  a system  of  full  payment,  partly 
because  poverty  is  not  so  much  a cause  of  separa- 
tion in  India  as  in  Britain  and  partly  because 
there  is  not  a sufficient  number  of  girls  ready  for 
higher  education  who  could  and  would  pay  fees 
that  would  cover  expenses.  Taken  as  a whole 
the  fees  in  mission  schools  are  higher  than  in 
Government  institutions. 

Of  a somewhat  different  and  more  usual  type 
is  the  United  Free  Church  High  school,  it  exists 
almost  entirely  for  the  girls  of  this  and  other  mis- 
sions who  enter  it  as  boarders  from  the  country ; 
the  school  is  thus  predominantly  Christian  and  has 
little  contact  with  Indian  life.  Of  122  scholars 
about  90  are  boarders,  and  accommodation  is  being 
built  for  more.  The  day  scholars  are  mostly  in 
the  lower  classes.  The  education  given  is  ex- 
ceedingly thorough,  and  if  the  whole  curriculum 
ending  with  a teachers’  diploma  is  taken  it  ensures  a 
girl  a good  post  either  in  Government  or  mission 
service.  There  is  no  College  Department,  but  a 
special  feature  since  1889  is  the  excellent  Normal 
course  from  which  most  satisfactory  results  have 
been  obtained.  Miss  Whyte  may  be  rightly 


Bengal  1 1 9 

considered  the  pioneer  of  efficient  training  for 
teachers  in  Bengal.  The  Government  curriculum 
is  followed,  and  in  addition  the  customary 
Biblical  instruction  is  given.  The  school  suffers 
from  two  drawbacks  customary  to  all  of  its  type, 
the  lack  of  space  and  the  “ Westernization  ” of 
the  pupils.  Situated  in  one  of  the  most  crowded 
parts  of  the  city,  the  buildings  resemble  a huge 
bee-hive  packed  with  class  rooms  and  dormitories 
and  redeemed  only  by  the  glorious  flat  roof  so 
characteristic  of  life  in  Calcutta.  Below  is  a 
pathetically  small  playground  where  the  boarders 
walk  or  read  or  play,  in  so  far  as  the  latter  is 
natural  to  Indian  girls.  A splendid  effort  has 
been  made  by  the  staff  to  bring  the  girls  into 
contact  with  nature  and  the  historic  monuments 
of  India  in  order  to  counteract  the  cramping 
influence  of  the  surroundings.  One  year  a large 
party  of  teachers  and  former  and  present  pupils 
visited  Agra  and  Delhi,  the  wonder  and  glory  of 
which  opened  a new  field  of  thought  and  imagina- 
tion to  the  Bengali  girls.  Another  year  the  whole 
school  was  transferred  for  a short  time  to  Deoghur. 
The  material  obtained  on  these  expeditions  served 
as  a basis  for  nature  study  throughout  the  term. 
The  students  and  elder  girls  are  also  taken  once 
a year  for  a short  mission  tour,  which  serves  not 
only  to  enlarge  their  horizon,  but  also  emphasizes 
the  primary  purpose  of  the  school.  In  spite, 
however,  of  the  energy  and  originality  of  the  staff 
in  organizing  these  expeditions,  the  atmosphere 
of  the  school  remains  very  much  that  of  an 


1 20  Education  of  Women  of  India 

ordinary  secondary  school  in  Scotland  and  has  no 
distinctively  Indian  note.  “ Atmosphere  ” and 
curriculum  are  mutually  dependent  and  their 
relationship  is  a problem  that  does  not  affect 
mission  schools  only.  As  a whole  the  mission 
High  schools  are  doing  a splendid  work  and  their 
growing  influence  in  the  community  is  to  be  noted 
inthefact  that  occasionally  Brahma-Samaj  and  even 
Hindu  girls  are  found  amongst  their  boarders. 

The  Middle  schools,  teaching  up  to  Standard 
V.,  have  adopted  the  sound  policy  of  excluding 
English,  the  object  being  to  give  a sound 
vernacular  training  to  such  children  as  will 
never  have  the  chance  of  getting  High  school 
education.  “ It  is  these  schools  which  supply 
the  bulk  of  pupils  to  our  training-schools  for  mis- 
tresses, and  as  such  their  importance  in  our 
system  of  female  education  in  this  country  is 
very  great.”  17  The  strong  point  of  the  mission 
schools,  both  Middle  and  Primary,  is  that  they 
are  under  the  direct  and  constant  supervision  of 
European  workers.  In  one  mission  visited,  all 
the  Indian  teachers  were  Christians  and  had  had 
Normal  training,  and  the  schools  were  constantly 
visited  by  a lady  holding  the  highest  educational 
certificates.  This  is  not  the  case  everywhere,  but 
it  is  the  ideal  aimed  at.  A mission  Primary  school 
is  a pleasant  place  full  of  promise  and  of  future 
possibilities.  Shadow  and  sunshine  are  mingled, 
but  on  the  whole  the  sunshine  predominates. 
Take  for  example  one  in  the  vicinity  of  Calcutta 
17  Bengal  Public  Instruction  Report,  1910. 


Four  Scholarship  Girls.  United  Free  Church  Mission  School 
for  Hindus,  Calcutta 


I 21 


Bengal 

— an  old  one-storied  dwelling-house  off  a village 
lane,  which  skill  has  converted  into  a passable 
four-roomed  school,  with  a sandy  patch  of  ground 
used  for  drill  and  occasional  geography  lessons. 
There  are  about  120  children  from  five  to  eight 
years  of  age,  the  infant  department  is  evidently 
looked  upon  as  a sort  of  creiche  by  the  village, 
for  there  are  eighty  babies  sitting  in  solemn  rows 
on  the  matting,  but  as  soon  as  a girl  becomes 
useful  or  marriageable  she  is  withdrawn.  Pre- 
siding over  this  happy  family  are  three  white- 
saried  Christian  girls,  only  one  of  whom  has  been 
trained  as  a teacher.  The  girl  with  the  eighty 
pupils  has  only  been  as  far  as  Standard  III. 
herself  ; she  is  however  making  a loyal  effort  ; 
the  babies  pass  their  wooden  boards  with  very 
tidy  hieroglyphics  for  inspection,  but  the  impos- 
siblity  of  it  all  makes  one  wonder  if  a Government 
grant  is  wisely  given.  The  Head-mistress  lends 
a kindly  eye,  but  her  attention  is  centred  on 
Standard  III.  with  its  five  select  girls  ; this  is 
the  last  year  of  Christian  influences  and  these 
girls  are  being  taught  something  not  in  the 
Government  Code.  They  are  bright  and  intel- 
ligent and  the  short  Scripture  lesson  is  enlivened 
by  plenty  of  question  and  answer.  Once  a 
fortnight  or  once  a week  the  school  will  be  visited 
by  an  English  lady,  who  will  plan,  supervise  and 
if  needful,  give  a model  lesson.  She  has  eight 
schools  of  this  type  under  her  personal  super- 
intendence, and  her  visits  are  the  pivot  on  which 
they  turn.  A good  Government  grant  is  given  ; 


122  Education  of  Women  of  India 

the  Code  for  vernacular  Primary  schools  is 
followed,  and  as  there  is  no  competition  the  work 
is  warmly  welcomed  by  the  Hindu  community. 
The  mission  Primary  schools  hold  their  own  in 
the  educational  system  ; of  thirty-eight  money 
prizes  given  by  Government  to  Calcutta  girls’ 
Primary  schools,  all  but  three  were  won  by  mission 
pupils.  The  special  characteristics  of  the  mis- 
sionary contribution  to  the  educational  problem, 
as  a whole,  are  the  presence  of  fully  qualified 
European  workers,  who  enter  the  educational 
sphere  at  salaries  which  no  Government  servant 
would  accept,  and  the  development  of  Normal 
work  on  scientific  principles. 

This  review  of  the  three  agencies  at  work  leads 
to  the  general  consideration  of  some  of  the  main 
problems  which  underlie  the  types  and  organiza- 
tion described,  and  which  affect  the  educational 
outlook  ; the  supply  of  teachers,  the  character 
of  Secondary  education,  the  development  of 
Primary  education  and  the  co-ordination  of  the 
whole.  The  most  crucial  is  undoubtedly  that 
concerning  the  teacher. 

The  school  career  of  the  Bengali  girl  is  limited 
at  present  in  the  large  majority  of  cases  to  only 
four  or  five  years,  and  there  is  thus  no  time  for  the 
teacher  to  waste.  If  education  is  to  commend 
itself  at  all  to  the  real  India  (as  distinct  from 
“ Babudom  ”)  it  must  be  of  the  very  best  type. 
The  Government  realize  this  and  are  putting  forth 
every  effort  to  procure  trained  teachers,  but 
whence  are  the  students  to  be  obtained,  and  who 


12  3 


Bengal 

is  to  train  them  ? The  unquestioned  future  for 
every  Hindu  and  Moslem  girl  is  matrimony  and 
it  is  therefore  only  from  amongst  those  who  have 
been  widowed  in  childhood  that  teachers  can  be 
drawn.  But  in  spite  of  all  that  has  been  written 
and  said  on  this  subject  the  necessary  education 
is  still  denied  to  them,  by  religion,  custom,  and 
prejudice.  In  the  Hindu  Female  Training  School 
in  Calcutta,  started  by  Government  to  sur- 
mount some  of  the  initial  prejudice  in  regard 
to  the  training  of  “ ftarda-nashin  ” women,  there 
are  only  seven  pupils.  They  are  all  widows  of 
above  sixteen  years  and  though  they  are  not 
admitted  unless,  when  children,  they  have  been 
through  the  fourth  standard,  their  brains  have 
remained  fallow  for  six  years  and  the  problem 
of  their  training  is  a difficult  one.  In  the  only 
other  Government  institution  for  non-Christians 
there  are  at  present  thirteen  Moslems  and  nine 
Hindus,  and  many  of  them  have  to  be  taught 
reading  and  writing  as  well  as  the  art  of  teaching. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  though  the  ultimate 
solution  of  the  dearth  of  teachers  may  be  found 
in  the  utilization  of  the  young  widows,  public 
opinion  will  have  to  undergo  a considerable  change 
before  it  is  possible.18  From  the  Brahma-Samaj 
community  more  is  to  be  expected,  and  though 
the  Brahma-Samaj  Training  Class  in  Calcutta  is 
not  at  present  in  a flourishing  condition,  they 
certainly  contribute  a fair  proportion  of  teachers. 
It  is,  however,  from  the  Christian  community  that 
18  Cf.  Chap.  VIII. 


124  Education  of  Women  of  India 

the  teachers  are  chiefly  drawn,  and  efforts  are 
being  made  to  secure  their  efficient  training.  Of 
the  sixteen  Training  Institutions  in  Bengal 
thirteen  are  under  mission  management,  and  of 
192  Indian  pupils,  175  are  Christian.  A whole- 
some sign  of  the  growing  spirit  of  unity  is  the 
amalgamation  of  the  training  classes  of  four 
missions  in  Calcutta  into  one  Christian  Normal 
Training  College  with  an  excellent  staff  and  a 
good  modern  equipment.  So  far  it  is  only  for 
mistresses  who  are  to  teach  in  the  vernacular. 
Even  with  the  large  contribution  of  Christian 
teachers,  the  demand  immensely  exceeds  the 
supply.  Even  before  her  examination  there  is 
hardly  one  of  the  candidates  who  has  not  secured 
a good  post.  They  are  in  demand  in  the  first 
instance  for  mission  schools,  in  Brahma-Samaj 
and  non-sectarian  institutions,  and  in  Hindu 
and  Model  Primary  schools.  “ The  fact  that  they 
are  Christians  in  a large  number  of  cases  is  not 
considered  a bar  to  their  employment.” 19  The 
inference  for  missionary  societies  is  obvious — 
that  to  supply  all  the  girls’  schools  of  Bengal 
with  teachers  of  strong  Christian  character  would 
contribute  much  to  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God.  As  regards  the  type  of  training  given, 
the  drawback  is  the  fact  that,  like  the  Code,  it  is 
too  Western.  A solution  may  probably  be  found 
if  the  British  educators  are  allowed  to  supple- 
ment their  home-training  by  further  studies  on 
the  spot,  before  undertaking  work — a slower 
19  Inspectress’s  Report. 


125 


Bengal 

process  but  a surer  one.  Secondary  training  is 
yet  to  be  developed  both  by  missions  and  by 
Government.  One  Indian  teacher  has  taken  her 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Teaching  from  a Mission 
school,  but  this  is  an  isolated  instance. 

The  relation  of  the  statistics  of  Higher  educa- 
tion to  Primary  is  striking  ; only  n % of  the  girls 
at  school  are  beyond  the  stage  of  just  being  able 
to  read  and  write,  while  only  319  girls  in  the 
whole  province  are  beyond  the  Middle  stage.  An 
immediate  question  is,  How  to  retain  the  girls  in 
the  higher  classes.  Social  and  religious  considera- 
tions weigh  heavily  here,  as  in  the  problem 
of  the  supply  of  teachers,  but  another  influence 
may  be,  as  elsewhere,  the  nature  of  the  curriculum. 
This  question  has  underlain  much  of  the  previous 
discussion,  and  is  wide  and  far  reaching  in  its 
scope.  Indian  education  must  have  its  own 
“ Paradise  ” ; the  acme  of  Western  civilization 
ought  not  to  be  reproduced  in  India,  if  diversity 
and  not  uniformity  is  the  higher  law.  There  is 
something  lacking  if  the  Mahakali  committee 
speak  of  a “ feeling  of  relief  ” in  an  escape  from 
Government  education,  and  some  compromise  is 
surely  possible  between  their  system  and  that  of 
the  Anglicized  Boarding  School.  Destructive 
criticism  is  easy  and  there  is  plenty  of  it  in  Indian 
educational  circles.  On  the  one  hand,  the  mission 
authorities  say  that  they  are  bound  by  the  hard 
and  fast  rules  of  the  Code  which  conditions  their 
grant,  on  the  other,  there  is  a great  deal  more 
liberality  and  elasticity  in  the  Government  policy 


126  Education  of  Women  of  India 

than  is  commonly  imagined,  and  a really  well 
thought  out  curriculum  on  new  lines  would 
probably  not  mean  the  forfeiture  of  a grant.  It 
is  true  that  schools  which  vary  from  the  type 
recognized  at  home  are  not  aided  by  Government, 
but  the  Indian  situation  is  different  and  it  is 
probably  for  the  good  of  the  whole  system  that 
they  should  be  under  Government  supervision 
and  receive  the  impetus  which  comes  from 
sharing  in  the  educational  scheme.  Here  is  the 
opportunity  for  private  enterprise  and  initiative  ; 
with  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  missionary 
societies  in  Calcutta  it  would  surely  be  possible 
to  remove  one  of  their  girls’  High  schools  to  the 
country  and  to  give  a practical  demonstration  of 
what  modern  education  on  Indian  lines  might 
mean.  This  would  be  no  easy  task  and  could 
only  be  accomplished  by  a staff  who  had  inti- 
mately studied  the  conditions  of  Indian  life  and 
thought.  This  would  be  the  most  effectual 
“ constructive  criticism.” 

The  extension  of  Primary  education  is  a crucial 
problem  throughout  India ; here  in  Bengal  95  % 
of  girls  of  school  age  are  absolutely  outside  the 
educational  pale.  The  wonder  is,  considering  the 
inveterate  indifference  of  the  majority  of  parents 
and  guardians  to  female  education,  even  when  it 
is  freely  given,  that  any  progress  is  made  at  all. 
On  the  one  hand  there  is  the  question  whether  it 
is  advisable  to  encourage  it  too  warmly,  when 
the  available  supply  of  trained  teachers  is  so  dis- 
proportioned  to  the  need ; on  the  other,  the 


Standards  I.  to  IV.  United  Free  Church  Mission  School  for  Hindus,  Calcutta 


127 


Bengal 

multiplication  of  schools  and  the  acceptance  of 
female  education  by  public  opinion  would  create 
a condition  more  favourable  to  the  ready  supply 
of  teachers.  The  new  Code  for  Primary  schools 
introduced  in  1910,  which  is  in  accord  with 
modern  educational  principles,  may  prove  more 
attractive  than  the  former.  Finance  is  an 
important  matter.  Many  villages  are  too  poor 
to  maintain  separate  pathshalas  for  their 
daughters  ; there  are  at  present  69,000  girls  in 
boys’  Primary  schools  as  against  75,000  in 
Primary  schools  for  girls  only.  The  result  is 
that  in  these  villages  the  stricter  castes  do  not 
send  their  girls  to  school  and  even  the  others  are 
withdrawn  after  the  infant  stage.  In  the  Second- 
ary schools  in  the  cities  many  girls  who  can  well 
afford  to  pay  are  enjoying  a first-class  education 
for  two  shillings  and  eightpence  a month  at  the 
expense  of  Government  and  missionary  societies. 
This  looks  as  if  a re-adjustment  of  funds  might 
increase  the  Primary  statistics.  Here  again  is  an 
unlimited  sphere  for  private  enterprise ; the 
mission  school  for  girls  only,  staffed  by  Indian 
women  teachers  under  European  supervision  is 
welcome  and  sure  of  success.  The  system  of 
Zenana  teaching  both  by  missionaries  and  Govern- 
ment teachers  is,  as  in  Eastern  Bengal,  of  great 
use  in  breaking  down  prejudice,  and  though 
apparently  slow  and  costly  work,  it  is  invaluable. 

It  might  possibly  prove  to  be  for  the  good  of 
the  whole  system  if  some  small  central  Board  or 
consultative  committee  were  formed  to  promote 


128  Education  of  Women  of  India 

co-operation  in  the  development  of  future  plans 
between  the  Government  and  the  various  private 
enterprises. 

The  future  of  female  education  in  Bengal  is 
partly  a question  of  administration,  partly  that  of 
a greater  number  of  European  educators  in 
sympathy  with  the  genius  of  the  country,  partly 
that  of  a reformed  curriculum,  but  more  funda- 
mentally it  is  a question  of  religious  evolution. 


VI 


INTERESTING  INSTITUTIONS  IN  THE 
UNITED  PROVINCES  AND  PANJAB 

“ The  world  exists  in  order  to  grow  souls  under  the 
eyes  of  a patient,  tireless,  yearning  Teacher.” 

From  Hindustan  Review. 

IT  is  not  proposed  to  give  in  this  chapter  a 
detailed  account  of  general  organization 
and  of  the  forces  at  work.  There  is  a de- 
finite similarity  in  the  system  of  administration 
throughout  all  India,  though  it  varies  in  its 
adaptation  to  indigenous  institutions  : one  policy 
underlies  missionary  efforts,  though  they  differ 
remarkably  in  the  personal  factor ; the  new 
Indian  spirit  is  everywhere  more  or  less  articulate. 
But  it  is  worth  while  to  lay  emphasis  on  certain 
phases  of  the  problem  of  female  education  in 
the  United  Provinces,  and  on  certain  institu- 
tions in  the  Panjab  which  are  typical  of  the 
complexity  of  the  situation,  or  present  unique 
characteristics. 

In  the  Quinquennial  Survey  the  United  Pro- 
vinces occupy  an  unsatisfactory  position  at  the 
bottom  of  the  list  of  comparative  percentages, 
showing  only  1.2  per  cent,  of  girls  of  school -going 
age  at  school.  This  percentage  has,  however,  risen 
1 129 


130  Education  of  Women  of  India 

in  1910  to  1.33,  and  the  total  number  of  institu- 
tions has  increased  from  1,067  to  1,266 — a credit- 
able advance  in  the  face  of  the  difficulties  to  be 
encountered.  The  “ impatient  idealist  ” must 
beware,  however,  of  extravagant  hopes  of  trans- 
formation in  a country  where  progress  must  of 
necessity  be  slow  and  of  an  evolutionary  nature. 
Under  more  stringent  inspection  and  regulation, 
the  rapid  advance  in  the  early  part  of  the  decade 
has  proved  to  a certain  extent  fictitious,  and  due 
to  an  over-hasty  desire  on  the  part  of  the  educa- 
tional authorities  to  move  with  the  times.  Local 
committees  had  apparently  started  schools  for 
which  there  was  no  demand  and  for  which  they 
were  unable  to  procure  teachers.  One  Inspectress 
reports  that  in  some  cases,  on  a surprise  visit, 
no  teacher  was  found  at  all ; in  others,  though 
the  teachers  were  present,  no  work  was  being 
done.1  Artificial  efforts  to  hasten  the  pace  were 
attended  only  by  a spurious  success  ; for  example, 
a capitation  grant  of  four  annas  a month  was 
given  in  1906  for  every  girl  attending  a boys’ 
school,  with  a resulting  increase  of  4000  in  the 
statistics  of  attendance  ; but  a careful  inspection 
and  subsequent  removal  of  the  grant  proved  that 
the  girls  had  simply  been  procured  to  sit  in  the 
schoolroom  without  receiving  any  attention,  and 
that  they  left  in  a year  or  two  as  ignorant  as  when 
they  entered  it.  Quite  possibly  some  of  the 
annas  had  found  their  way  into  the  pockets  of 
the  parents  who  had  been  so  obliging  as  to  lend 
1 Public  Instruction  Report,  United  Provinces,  1910. 


Interesting  Institutions  13 1 

their  girls.  The  latest  statistics  show  a drop  of 
3000  in  the  total  number  of  female  scholars,  but 
this  is  entirely  among  the  girls  attending  boys’ 
schools,  and  is  due  to  the  more  efficient  adminis- 
tration. The  slight  increase  in  the  Secondary 
schools  and  in  the  girls’  Primary  schools  is  a sign 
of  genuine  progress  and  may  be  welcomed  as 
such.  The  policy  of  the  Government  is  one  of 
slow  advance  after  careful  investigation  and  en- 
listment of  local  co-operation.  About  the  year 
1907,  every  District  Officer  was  instructed  to 
form  a special  committee  to  watch  over  the  in- 
terests of  girls’  education  in  his  district,  and 
some  of  these  committees  have  done  excellent 
work,  while  others  have  been  baffled  by  the 
difficulties  to  be  faced  and  by  lack  of  funds. 
Others,  again,  as  indicated  above,  have  tended 
to  make  haste  too  quickly.  The  fact  that  Indian 
non-Christian  men  of  good  social  position  have 
been  found  willing  to  serve  on  these  committees 
is  an  indication  of  general  advance  and  of  growing 
sympathy  with  every  effort  for  enlightenment 
and  reform.2 

As  regards  Inspectresses,  the  United  Provinces 
are  better  staffed  at  present  than  any  other 
province  excepting  possibly  Madras,  and  yet  the 
overwork  is  no  less,  for  the  districts  are  very 
large,  and  in  many  cases  the  schools  are  quite 
inaccessible  to  the  woman  traveller.  But  in  a 
country  where  ftarda  is  strict,  and  where  registers 

2 Cf.  Young  India  and  the  Education  of  Girls,  E.  R. 
M'Neile  (C.M.S.). 


132  Education  of  Women  of  India 

may  only  represent  fictitious  girls,  and  where 
moreover  the  work  of  the  Inspectress  is  much 
needed  for  the  stimulus  and  sympathy  she  can 
give,  the  system  well  repays  the  necessary  expense, 
and  will  probably  admit  of  yet  further  expansion. 
An  effort  is  also  being  made  to  secure  voluntary 
co-operation  on  the  part  of  both  English  and 
Indian  ladies  who  are  willing  and  able  to  help. 
One  Indian  lady  has  given  a great  deal  of  her 
time  to  the  inspection  of  the  Government  Primary 
schools  in  her  district ; another  lady,  a missionary 
with  exceptional  qualifications,  is  secretary  of  a 
local  educational  committee. 


Table  of  Schools  for  Indian  Girls  in  the  United 
Provinces.3 


Under  Public 

Management. 

Under  Private 
Management. 

Government. 

0 

c 

9)  • 

> 8 

C5  rt 

TD 

TD 

0 3 l-« 

< 

fa 

High  Schools 

6 

Middle— 

English  . 

1 

18 

4 

Vernacular 

7 

Primary  . 

57 

355 

499 

17 

Training  Schools 

1 

7 

3 

58 

356 

537 

24 

3 Formed  from  Statistical  Tables  III  and  IIIA.  in  Public 
Instruction  Report  for  United  Provinces,  1910. 


Interesting  Institutions  133 

The  problem  of  finding  teachers  is  even  more 
acute  here  than  elsewhere.  It  seems  hardly 
credible  that  a teacher  could  be  found  in  regular 
employment  who  was  unable  to  write  words  of 
three  letters  to  dictation,  yet  such  is  a recorded 
fact.  Her  ignorance  had  been  concealed  by  a 
memorized  knowledge  of  the  Koran.  Of  sixty- 
two  Primary  schools  sanctioned  by  Government 
in  1909  it  has  only  been  possible  to  open  twenty- 
one  because  of  the  entire  lack  of  teachers  with 
even  the  minimum  of  qualification. 

There  are  two  lines  of  spontaneous  Indian 
effort : the  Arya  Samaj , whose  schools  conform  to 
the  Government  Code  and  regulations,  and  neo- 
Hinduism,4  which  has  produced  Mrs  Besant’s 
school  for  Indian  girls  at  Benares.  The  Arya 
Samaj  have  a good  training-school  for  teachers 
at  Dehra  Dun,  students  from  which  may  be  found 
teaching  in  their  schools  in  other  parts  of  India. 
A High-school  department  has  recently  been  added 
to  it,  and  every  effort  is  being  put  forth  to  make 
it  a strong  educational  centre.  The  school  at 
Benares  is  in  connexion  with  the  Hindu  Central 
College,  and  poses  as  a definite  revolt  from  the 
anglicizing  tendency  of  Government  and  mission 
schools.  It  receives  no  grant,  and  as  yet  has  not 
even  applied  for  inspection.  The  Government 
is  considered  to  “ favour  Christian  and  mission 
schools,”  and  therefore,  though  there  is  the  same 
lack  of  funds  here  as  elsewhere,  the  promoters 
will  have  none  of  it  or  its  money  ! Freedom  to 
4 Cf.  The  Renaissance  in  India,  C.  F.  Andrews. 


134  Education  of  Women  of  India 

shape  their  own  curriculum  is  also  a dominant 
motive.  To  enter  the  school  and  see  over  a 
hundred  beautifully  dressed  Indian  girls,  almost 
all  of  the  Brahman  caste,  sitting  in  groups  of  six 
or  seven,  on  bright  carpets,  the  class-rooms  well 
separated  in  the  spacious  airy  building,  was 
certainly  to  feel  that  here  one  might  find  a solu- 
tion of  the  curriculum  problem  and  a construc- 
tive theory  of  Indian  education.  “ A training  in 
conduct  and  religion  is  what  Indians,  as  a rule, 
value  most  for  their  women — the  work  for  those 
going  beyond  the  rudiments  is  too  bookish  in 
character.”  5 Here  the  teachers  are  free  to 
saturate  the  instruction  throughout  with  the 
ethical  elements  of  a religion  acceptable  to  the 
parents,  to  edit  their  own  text -books,  to  emphasize 
the  study  of  the  vernaculars  and  Indian  classics 
without  the  strain  of  examinations.  The  pupils 
stay  longer  than  in  other  schools : many 
“ married  ” girls  of  fifteen  and  sixteen  years  are 
in  the  upper  forms.  One  particularly  bright 
child  of  fourteen  told  us  she  was  to  be  there  for 
four  years  while  her  husband  studied  in  England. 
Thus  there  is  time  really  to  influence  the  character 
and  mind  of  the  girls.  Yet,  on  analysis,  from  the 
purely  educational  point  of  view  the  school  was 
distinctly  disappointing.  As  regards  the  staff, 
the  Head-mistress,  an  English  lady,  claimed  no 
knowledge  of  the  vernacular,  and  though  her 
intercourse  with  the  girls  seemed  most  cordial 
and  sympathetic,  it  was  necessarily  limited,  and 
5 Public  Instruction  Report,  United  Provinces,  p.  34. 


Interesting  Institutions  135 

still  more  limited  was  her  knowledge  of  their 
studies.  An  American  with  the  degree  of  B.Sc., 
a Brahman,  wife  of  one  of  the  College  professors, 
who  had  been  educated  in  a convent,  three 
mission-taught  girls,  and  sundry  other  teachers 
of  a nondescript  character,  completed  the  number. 
English  was  taught  throughout,  from  class  III. 
upwards,  and  used  as  a medium  of  instruction  in 
classes  VI.  and  VII.,  but  the  degree  of  fluency  of 
the  girls  therein  seemed  hardly  to  justify  this 
method.  Many  of  the  ordinary  text-books  were 
in  use,  and  except  for  the  moral  catechisms  and 
some  stress  laid  on  Indian  art  and  Hinduism  in 
the  drawing  lessons,  the  difference  of  the  cur- 
riculum seemed  more  theoretical  than  actual. 
The  theories  are,  however,  suggestive,  and  when 
traced  to  the  basal  thought  that  education  must 
be  founded  on  the  hereditary  instinct  and  natural 
environment  of  the  child  they  are  not  in  reality 
revolutionary  but  compatible  with  the  construc- 
tive system  and  ideals  of  the  Christian  religion. 

The  Crosthwaite  High  School  at  Allahabad 
shows  possibilities  of  a different  nature.  It  was 
started  privately  in  Lucknow  city  some  eighteen 
years  ago  by  a committee  of  Indian  gentlemen 
and  Government  officials,  and  was  afterwards 
removed  for  the  sake  of  a larger  site  and  fresher 
air.  A long,  low,  roomy  building,  with  deep 
verandahs,  forms  the  central  school,  with  two 
hostels  attached  to  it,  in  one  of  which  twenty 
Moslem  girls  were  residing,  in  the  other  six 
Hindus.  A considerable  number  of  day  pupils, 


136  Education  of  Women  of  India 

without  restriction  as  to  creed,  are  drawn  from 
Allahabad.  Tuition  and  conveyance  for  day 
pupils  are  given  free,  but  the  charge  for  boarders 
meets  the  cost.  The  Government  Code  is  followed 
throughout,  and  the  knowledge  of  English,  tested 
by  recitation  and  questioning  on  subject-matter, 
seemed  of  a thorough  quality.  The  school 
illustrated  in  miniature  most  of  the  usual 
problems.  It  was  marvellous  that  Moslem  girls 
of  really  good  family  should  have  been  allowed 
to  come  to  a boarding-school,  some  from  far 
distant  States,  and  there  was  a certain  pathos  in 
the  sight  of  them  being  taught  by  any  kind  of 
woman  who  had  “ learnt  to  read  and  write  at 
home,”  and  who  in  some  cases  might  almost  have 
been  their  ayah.  This  description  applies  only 
to  the  lower  forms,  but  in  these  classes  girls  are 
at  the  most  formative  age,  and  many  would  not 
stay  for  the  whole  course.  One  teacher  of  this 
type  was  actually  engaged  in  nursing  her  baby 
while  giving  an  arithmetic  lesson,  and  one 
wondered  which  of  the  two  suffered  more — the 
lesson  or  the  baby  ! The  Head-mistress  was  a 
young  Indian  Christian  graduate  from  the 
Isabella  Thoburn  College,  full  of  energy  and 
enthusiasm  for  what  seemed  so  difficult  a task. 
She  herself  had  to  take  three  lessons  a day,  which 
left  little  leisure  for  the  superintendence  of  the 
lower  school  with  its  double  vernacular  (Hindi 
and  Urdu)  standards  throughout.  A similar 
position  in  a school  at  home  would  have  been 
occupied  by  a much  older  woman  with  many 


The  Isabella  Thoburn  College,  Lucknow 


Interesting  Institutions  137 

years’  experience  of  life.  A question  as  to  the 
religious  teaching  given  elicited  the  following 
reply  : “ The  Mohammedan  teacher  has  her  own 
girls  ; I teach  the  few  Christians,  and  the  Hindus 
look  after  their  own  bathings  ! ” There  is  no 
question  here  of  Indianizing  the  curriculum. 

In  turning  to  the  specifically  Christian  institu- 
tions, it  has  again  to  be  noted  that  the  missionaries 
have  been  the  pioneers  of  education,  that  an  over- 
whelming proportion  of  the  aided  schools  are 
under  their  management,  and  that  a creditable 
proportion  of  Christian  girls  in  the  High  stages 
(552  out  of  759  Indian  girls)  is  maintained.  No 
account  of  women’s  education  in  India  would  be 
complete  without  a full  description  of  the  Isabella 
Thoburn  College,  or,  as  it  is  called  throughout  the 
Northern  provinces,  the  “ Lai  Bagh  ” (Rose 
Garden).  From  a tiny  beginning  in  1870  as  a 
bazaar  school  in  Lucknow,  with  half  a dozen 
Christian  girls,  it  has  grown  by  successive  stages 
to  a splendidly  equipped  collegiate  institution, 
the  portals  of  which  may  be  entered  by  a child  as 
a tiny  “ rosebud  ” for  the  Kindergarten,  and  from 
whence  the  full-blown  B.A.  may  emerge  some 
sixteen  years  later.  The  College  and  its  latest 
additions  stand  as  a memorial  to  two  strong 
personalities,  Isabella  Thoburn,  the  founder,  and 
Lilavati  Singh,  whose  early  death  in  1909,  when 
Vice-Principal  of  the  College,  removed  one  of  the 
Indian  leaders  of  women’s  education.  The  ideals 
after  which  they  strove  and  the  spirit  of  passionate 
sacrifice  for  others  which  dominated  their  lives 


138  Education  of  Women  of  India 

form  a strong  tradition  in  the  school.  The 
American  sense  of  community  life  which  enters 
so  markedly  into  their  schools  and  colleges  has 
been  transferred  with  wise  adaptation  to  the 
Indian  environment ; and  the  former  pupils  of  the 
“ Lai  Bagh,”  scattered  throughout  India,  are  still 
under  the  glamour  of  their  school  days  and  are 
working  out  its  inspiration.  Self-government  in 
all  that  regards  the  common  interest  is  the  rule 
of  the  College  and  Normal  departments,  and  the 
same  principle  is  being  slowly  established  in  the 
High  school  in  the  hope  of  developing  the  sense 
of  responsibility  so  greatly  needed  in  the  Indian 
character.  The  girls  are  practically  all  Christian, 
but  occasionally  a non-Christian  girl  is  found 
taking  advantage  of  the  splendid  education  which 
she  could  obtain  nowhere  else.  The  Zenana 
school,  opened  in  1909,  is  attended  by  some  Hindu 
and  Mohammedan  girls  desirous  of  a simple 
course  with  domestic  science,  and  it  is  expected 
that  this  department  will  gradually  increase. 
There  is  also  a special  hostel  for  Hindu  or 
Mohammedan  girls  which  has  not  yet  been  much 
utilized.  The  staff  consists  of  seven  or  eight 
American  graduates  and  about  fifteen  Indian 
teachers,  some  of  whom  are  graduates  also.  There 
are  no  untrained  teachers.  This  proportion  in  a 
school  of  some  200  pupils,  and  a College  and 
Normal  department  of  about  40,  is  refreshing 
after  other  institutions,  but  it  in  no  way  satisfies 
the  standard  of  efficiency  aimed  at  by  the 
directors.  The  Normal  department  is  of  special 


Interesting  Institutions  139 

importance,  as  teachers  are  supplied  from  it  to  all 
parts  of  Northern  India.  No  student  is  admitted 
to  the  senior  course  who  has  not  passed  the 
Matriculation  or  equivalent  examination,  and 
the  Government  Report  testifies  to  the  thorough- 
ness of  the  training  given.  A lower  qualification 
is  accepted  for  the  Kindergarten  course.  The 
Government  Code  is  followed  throughout,  and  there 
is  thus  no  question  of  an  experimental  curriculum 
on  Indian  lines.  The  College  is  under  a Board  of 
Directors  which  includes  two  prominent  Indian 
gentlemen,  and  is  in  connexion  with  the  American 
Methodist  Mission. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  has  an  excellent 
boarding-school  for  Christian  girls  at  Benares 
with  about  100  pupils.  The  central  schools  for 
the  Christian  community  form  a very  important 
part  of  the  work  of  any  mission,  and  it  is  entirely 
due  to  them  that  the  creditable  percentage  of 
Christian  girls  in  the  Secondary  stages  is  main- 
tained. Where  a Normal  department  can  be 
added,  their  influence  on  the  non-Christian  com- 
munity and  on  the  general  educational  situation 
is  very  marked.  Unfortunately  some  mission 
committees  have  still  a tendency  to  appoint  a 
pupil  to  a post  too  soon,  and  the  numbers  are  not 
as  large  as  they  might  be.  The  Benares  class  has 
at  present  nine  students  who  entered  it  with 
Middle  Anglo-Vernacular  qualifications ; its 
special  feature,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  subjects, 
is  an  experimental  attempt  to  give  some  concep- 
tion of  the  Hindu  environment  of  religious 


140  Education  of  Women  of  India 

thought  to  the  students.  The  Indian  Christian 
of  the  second  or  third  generation  tends  to  be 
totally  isolated  in  idea  and  thought  from  other 
Indians,  and  this  tendency  is  often  accentuated 
in  mission  schools.  It  is  therefore  exceedingly 
important  that  those  who  are  to  influence  Hindu 
life  as  teachers  in  mission  or  Government  schools 
should,  in  the  course  of  their  training,  form  some 
clear  and  correct  conception  of  the  religious  en- 
vironment of  their  future  pupils.  Experimental 
work  of  this  type  should  prove  most  useful  in  any 
future  developments  of  Normal  training  which 
missionary  societies  may  be  contemplating. 

There  is  throughout  a pleasant  spirit  of  co- 
operation between  the  various  educational  mis- 
sionaries, and  between  them  and  the  Government 
authorities.  There  is  a Missionary  Educational 
Union  for  the  Province  which  the  Inspectresses 
attend  officially.  An  annual  Teachers’  Confer- 
ence is  held  in  February,  and  it  is  probable  that 
in  the  future  co-operation  may  pass  from  theory 
to  actual  fact  in  the  development  of  further  work. 
A striking  lack  in  the  missionary  contribution  is 
the  absence  of  any  school  of  really  first-class 
character  for  non-Christian  girls,  such  as  exist  in 
Bombay  and  Calcutta.  The  educational  work 
for  boys  has  been  fully  developed,  but  the  parallel 
opportunity  for  girls  which  the  changing  times 
have  created  has  yet  to  be  seized.  It  may  be 
argued  that  the  Isabella  Thoburn  school  has 
arrangements  for  non-Christian  girls,  but  even  in 
these  changing  times  there  are  few  non-Christians 


Interesting  Institutions  141 

who  would  be  willing  to  risk  their  daughters  in  a 
boarding-school  among  such  an  overwhelming 
number  of  Christian  girls,  whereas  first-class 
schools  starting  fresh  with  no  tradition  would  be 
sufficiently  in  touch  with  the  new  movement  to 
attract  pupils  by  their  sheer  efficiency.  In  this 
direction  and  in  the  training  of  teachers  the 
standard  must  be  set  by  the  missionary  authorities 
if  their  reputation  as  pioneers  is  to  be  maintained. 

The  situation  in  the  Panjab  differs  again  only 
in  degree.  While  there  has  been  no  ebb  in  the 
increasing  tide  of  pupils — an  increase  of  1328  in 
1909,  and  of  3732  in  1910,  making  a present  total 
of  over  42,000  girls  under  instruction — the  problem 
of  administration  and  inspection  in  a strictly 
parda  country  is  as  difficult  as  elsewhere,  and 
there  are  stories  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  teachers 
which  surpass  even  those  told  of  other  provinces. 
The  municipalities  vary  greatly  in  their  enthusiasm 
for  the  education  of  girls — Amritsar,  for  instance, 
being  well  supplied  with  thirty-five  girls’  schools, 
whereas  Lahore  has  only  one  of  this  type.  The 
missions  have  as  elsewhere  the  system  of  boarding- 
schools  for  Christian  girls,  and  carry  on  extensive 
work,  chiefly  of  a Primary  nature,  among  non- 
Christians  of  all  races  and  creeds.  Occasionally 
a non-Christian  girl  is  found  in  a Christian 
boarding-school.  Some  of  these  schools  are 
specially  commended  by  the  Inspectress  for  their 
teaching  in  domestic  economy  and  sewing.  “ The 
Sialkot  boarding-school  divides  the  children  into 
families  of  twelve  girls  who  each  do  their  own 


142  Education  of  Women  of  India 

cooking,  washing,  and  housework,  even  the  little 
ones  helping.” 6 St  Stephen’s  Girls’  School 
(S.  P.  G.)  has  a special  lace  department  where 
any  girl  who  wishes  to  learn  English  may  earn 
the  money  to  pay  the  requisite  fee.  The  lace 
produced  is  of  a marketable  quality,  and  not  of 
the  type  which  passes  from  bazaar  to  bazaar  in 
Great  Britain.  The  work  of  the  Kinnaird  Girls’ 
High  School,  Lahore,  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
Bombay  school 1 under  the  auspices  of  the  same 
society  (Z.  B.  M.  M.).  It  is  intended  mainly  for 
Indian  Christian  girls,  but  contains  a certain  pro- 
portion of  others.  The  average  age  of  leaving  is 
about  sixteen.  Its  training  class  is  of  special 
interest.  Women  students  in  the  Panjab  are 
allowed  to  take  the  Junior  Anglo- Vernacular 
training  after  matriculation,  though,  in  the  case 
of  men  the  same  examination  is  open  only  to 
graduates.  In  spite  of  this  the  girls  generally 
stand  fairly  high  in  the  lists,  one  of  them  recently 
taking  the  second  place.  The  class,  however, 
averages  only  some  five  students,  though  the 
school  has  over  160  girls.  There  is  another 
excellent  High  school  for  Indian  non-Christian 
girls  in  Lahore  under  the  superintendence  of  an 
Indian  Christian  lady. 

Here,  too,  slowly  but  surely,  the  voice  of  Young 
India  is  making  itself  heard  in  a new  desire  and 
a new  effort.  Lawyers,  doctors,  Government 
servants,  are  seeking  for  their  wives  and  daughters 

0 Public  Instruction  Report,  Panjab,  1910. 

* Cf.  p.  178. 


Church  Missionary  Society,  Middle  School,  Amritsar. — Hoop  Drill 


Interesting  Institutions  143 

an  education  which,  if  not  equal  to  their  own,  will 
a least  be  a sufficient  compromise  between  the 
old  status  and  the  new  ideas  to  which  they  give 
utterance  from  public  platforms  and  in  the  press. 
The  reform  sects,  notably  the  Arya  Samaj,  are 
ready  with  a definite  educational  policy  of  their 
own.  They  have  a special  orphanage  at  Feroze- 
pore,  and  a considerable  number  of  schools ; 
the  Dev  Samaj,  a new  rallying-point,  has  two  or 
more  schools ; there  is  a Sikh  boarding-school  near 
Amritsar  ; and,  “ in  opposition  to  these  reforming 
Hindu  societies,  at  least  one  orthodox  Hindu 
girls’  school  has  been  opened  lately.  Whether 
the  activity  of  the  reformers  will  force  the  ortho- 
dox Hindus  to  take  an  interest  in  girls’  education 
and  to  start  a network  of  schools  in  opposition 
remains  to  be  seen.”  8 The  Maharani  of  Burdwar 
is  noted  for  her  efforts  in  this  direction,  and  her 
schools,  the  Vedic  Putri  Pathshala  and  the  Khatri 
Girls’  School  at  Lahore,  both  aim  at  having 
High  departments.  Absolutely  unique  in  its  aim, 
management,  and  curriculum  is  the  Victoria  May 
Girls’  High  School,  Lahore,  now  known  as  Queen 
Mary  College.  The  idea  of  establishing  a High 
school  for  Indian  girls  of  good  family  was  put 
forward  by  certain  Indian  ladies  at  the  parda 
party  held  in  honour  of  the  visit  of  the  then 
Princess  of  Wales  in  November  1905,  and  the 
possibility  of  putting  this  proposal  into  effect  was 

8 Female  Education  in  North  India.  East  and  West, 
January  1911.  M.  P.  Western,  Principal,  Victoria  May 
School. 


144  Education  of  Women  of  India 

attained  by  the  munificence  of  certain  leading 
Native  States  in  the  Panjab.  The  school  is  under 
the  management  of  five  leading  Indian  gentlemen 
representing  different  creeds,  and  of  two  of  the 
highest  officials  in  the  Province.  Its  curriculum 
is,  so  far  as  the  writer’s  experience  extends,  the 
only  one  in  which  a definite  constructive  theory 
has  been  put  forth  for  the  education  of  Indian 
girls  on  such  lines  as  combine  excellent  modern 
education  with  training  suitable  to  their  future 
environment.9  Its  ideals  are  defined  in  the 
following  extract  from  the  prospectus.  “ The 
proposed  education  is  to  be  first  and  foremost 
womanly,  therefore  pupils  will  not  be  prepared 
for  Matriculation  until  alternative  courses  of 
study  suitable  for  girls  be  framed  by  the  Educa- 
tion Department.  The  Indian  ideals  of  self- 
sacrificing  motherhood  and  simplicity  of  life  will 
be  held  sacred,  and  the  education  given,  while 
conducted  on  the  best  modern  methods,  seeks  in 
every  way  to  guard  the  ideal  of  the  Indian  wife 
in  her  home.  For  this  reason  the  curriculum 
includes  lessons  on  the  care  of  children’s  health, 
simple  remedies  for  ordinary  illnesses,  ‘ first  aid,’ 
invalid  cookery,  and  science  as  applied  to  the 
home,  in  the  shape  of  the  elementary  laws  of 
sanitation,  ventilation,  etc.”  Great  attention  is 
paid  to  the  vernaculars  and  to  the  beautiful 

9 The  prospectus  of  the  Conjeevaram  School  (South 
India)  presents  several  unique  features.  The  Hindus 
consider  it  their  best  school.  A visit  was,  unfortu- 
nately, impossible. 


Interesting  Institutions  145 

Oriental  scripts.  Advanced  pupils  may  study 
Persian  or  Sanskrit.  A speciality  is  made  of 
colloquial  English,  but  there  is  no  study  of  it  as 
advanced  literature.  Moral  instruction  is  given 
from  the  beautiful  stories  and  poems  of  all 
religions,  no  sacred  book  being  excluded,  and  is  as 
effective  as  can  be  in  an  institution  necessarily 
limited  in  its  religious  life  and  instruction.  A great 
effort  is  being  made  to  attract  pupils  from  the 
families  whose  sons  attend  the  Chiefs’  College  in 
Lahore  ; six  or  eight  special  suites  of  rooms  are 
being  reserved  for  rajahs’  daughters  and  their 
necessary  attendants,  in  new  buildings  attached 
to  the  Principal’s  house,  and  such  facilities  may 
do  much  to  break  down  the  barrier  which  has 
hitherto  separated  these  classes  from  modern 
education.  This  school  may  serve  not  only  as 
an  inspiration  to  its  actual  pupils,  but  may  have  a 
reflex  influence  on  the  whole  scheme  of  education. 
For  instance,  a course  of  lectures  has  recently 
been  started  in  connection  with  it  to  demonstrate 
to  Indian  ladies  the  real  needs  of  local  girls’ 
schools,  and  to  induce  them  to  act  where  pos- 
sible as  helpers  and  advisers.  To  turn  what  has 
hitherto  proved  an  obstructive  force  into  a defi- 
nitely constructive  one  would  surely  be  an 
excellent  policy. 

The  Land  of  the  Five  Rivers  has  ever  been  a 
land  of  romance  and  of  stirring  life,  and  the  modern 
movement  for  the  enlightenment  of  its  woman- 
kind has  still  the  same  elements,  and  is  full  of  the 
promise  of  the  future. 

K 


VII 


SIDELIGHTS  ON  SOME  NATIVE  STATES 


“ Vulgarity  is  unknown  in  India.  This  alone  is 
education  and  of  the  highest  order.  Reading  and 
writing  are  minor  to  it.” 


From  the  Indian  Ladies’  Magazine. 


,0  the  student  of  Indian  problems  the 


Native  States  present  in  many  cases  a 


survival  of  former  conditions  which 
elsewhere  have  been  swept  away  under  the  more 
direct  influence  of  British  rule  ; in  others  freedom 
from  the  criticism  to  which  an  alien  rule  is  liable 
has  allowed  advanced  rulers  to  experiment  on  the 
most  modern  lines.  The  term  “ Native  State  ” 
is  itself  capable  of  very  diverse  interpretation.10 
There  are  in  all  about  seven  hundred  districts  so 
called,  with  a total  population  of  over  62  million, 
and  varying  in  size  from  the  great  southern 
State  of  Hyderabad,  with  an  area  of  over  82,000 
square  miles,  to  parcels  of  land  about  the  size  of 
an  average  country  estate  in  England.  The 
British  Government  takes  direct  cognizance  of 
some  hundred  of  these  in  varying  degrees  of 
relationship.  Some  States  are  entirely  responsible 

10  Administrative  Problems  of  British  India,  book  ii., 
chap.  i.  J.  Chailley. 


146 


Sidelights  on  Some  Native  States  147 

for  their  own  internal  government  with  a British 
Resident  tactfully  fulfilling  his  difficult  office ; in 
others  the  control  is  more  direct,  under  an  officer 
appointed  as  administrator  by  the  Government  till 
such  time  as  the  State  finances  or  internal  order 
may  justify  once  more  the  revival  of  relative  inde- 
pendence under  an  heir  of  the  dynastic  family. 
There  is  thus  every  variety  of  ruler,  from  the 
rajah  who  holds  the  time-honoured  doctrine  of 
“ L’etat  c’est  moi,”  and  whose  State  recalls  the 
prejudices,  barbarities,  and  general  practices  of 
the  Europe  of  the  Middle  Ages,  to  the  virtuous 
chiefs  who  strive  to  rule  on  modern  principles  of 
order  and  justice  for  the  welfare  of  their  people. 
There  are  rajahs  whose  womenfolk  are  the  strictest 
of  parda-nashin  and  others  whose  daughters  may 
disport  themselves  in  English  society  at  home 
to  their  hearts’  content,  a curious  bye-product 
being  the  rani  who  is  parda-nashin  in  her  own 
State  but  not  when  she  comes  out  into  the  world 
abroad. 

It  is  natural  that  only  amongst  the  more  pro- 
gressive States  is  any  opportunity  found  of  study- 
ing the  question  of  female  education ; in  others 
even  the  first  beginnings  are  totally  absent. 
The  present  chapter  is  in  no  sense  a complete 
survey,  and  only  offers  a few  notes  which  may 
indicate  the  general  trend.  It  is  difficult  in  many 
cases  to  obtain  exact  information,  as  the  British 
Government  are  wisely  chary  of  giving  too  much. 
The  official  reports,  as  M.  Chailley  puts  it,  wrap 
up  blame  in  velvet  and  distribute  praise  with  a 


148  Education  of  Women  of  India 

liberal  hand,  and  a letter  to  a native  diwan 11  will 
not  always  procure  an  educational  report  with 
the  same  promptitude  as  it  would  in  British 
territory.  There  is  also  the  never-to-be-forgotten 
fact  that  “ All  the  world’s  a stage,”  and  at  times 
the  temptation  to  play  a part,  to  produce  a sem- 
blance of  things  which  speak  of  progress  and 
yet  lack  reality,  is  too  strong  for  the  Oriental 
mind.  Thus  a school  housed  in  a magnificent 
building  with  four  hundred  girls  on  its  roll  may 
prove  to  have  less  than  two  hundred  in  daily 
attendance,  though  each  child  is  in  receipt  of  a 
monthly  “ stipend  ” from  the  State  for  the  honour 
of  her  attendance  ; and  “ God  save  the  Queen  ” 
may  be  cheerily  sung  in  honour  of  the  beloved 
Empress  of  whose  death  all  India  has  not  yet 
heard  ! 

Some  of  the  smaller  Native  States  are  closely 
linked  educationally  with  the  adjacent  British 
province  ; the  Inspectors  visit  them,  and  their 
statistics  are  included  in  the  Provincial  Report. 
Thus  the  Quinquennial  Survey  includes  over 
150,000  square  miles  of  Native  State  territory, 
chiefly  in  the  Bombay  Presidency.  In  others, 
with  which  the  Government  of  India  maintains 
direct  political  relations,  the  educational  policy 
depends  entirely  on  the  native  ruler,  and  reflects 
his  personality  and  enthusiasm.  A very  striking 
instance  of  this  is  Baroda,  a small  state  with  a 
population  of  about  two  million.  A policy  of 
stringent  reform  was  inaugurated  there  about 
11  Chief  minister. 


Sidelights  on  Some  Native  States  149 

1875,  during  the  minority  of  the  present  Gaekwar, 
and  has  had  its  effect  on  the  position  of  women. 
Two  acts,  legalizing  the  re-marriage  of  widows 
and  raising  the  marriage  age  to  twelve,  have 
marked  the  tide  of  progress  during  the  last  decade. 
The  educational  movement  dates  from  1871,  and 
there  is  now  a complete  system  for  boys  from  free 
Primary  education  to  scholarships  in  Japanese 
Universities.  The  scheme  for  girls  is  less  am- 
bitious, but  there  are  Primary  schools  in  every 
village,  teaching  the  ordinary  curriculum  up  to 
Standard  IV.,  a fair  proportion  of  Secondary 
schools  in  which  cooking  is  also  taught  by  the 
teacher  or  by  a Brahman  cook,  and  a central 
High  school  in  the  capital  with  a Training  college 
attached.  Any  girl  of  promise  can  secure  a 
scholarship  to  it  after  the  fourth  or  fifth  Standard, 
and  after  a five  years’  course  is  certain  of  employ- 
ment. The  curriculum  is  very  thorough,  including 
astronomy,  botany,  mathematics,  and  the  ordinary 
Normal  course.  There  are  at  present  about  fifty 
students  in  the  college,  and  a steadily  increasing 
stream  of  applicants.  My  informant  stated  that 
there  was  no  prejudice  here  against  widows  as 
teachers,  and  that  even  Brahman  widows  who 
were  poorly  off  had  entered  the  profession.  The 
statistics  are  of  special  interest  as  showing  the 
effect  of  compulsory  education  within  a limited 
area.  This  experiment  was  introduced,  for  the 
first  time  in  Indian  history,  in  one  district  of 
Baroda  in  1893,  and  was  extended  to  the  whole 
province  in  1904.  The  age  for  girls  is  seven  to  ten. 


150  Education  of  Women  of  India 

for  boys  from  seven  to  twelve.  The  numbers  in 
the  girls’  case  rose  from  9 % of  school  age  at  school 
in  1905  to  47%  in  1910 — an  almost  incredible 
rise  in  comparison  with  the  slow  movement  in 
other  parts  of  India.  There  is  naturally  a good 
deal  to  be  said  as  to  the  wisdom  of  a policy  which 
is  so  far  in  advance  of  the  desire  of  the  people. 
Some  are  said  to  be  flying  from  Baroda  into  the 
adjacent  British  territory  to  escape  what  appears 
to  them  a meaningless  tyranny.12  The  people  are 
very  poor  and  heavily  taxed  ; they  want  the 
children  to  work,  or  to  take  charge  of  the  other 
children  while  the  women  work  in  the  fields. 
The  richer  parents,  again,  object  to  the  girls  leaving 
the  house,  as  parda  is  fairly  strict.  There  are 
pathetic  tales  of  school-mistresses  who,  in  addition 
to  their  scholastic  duties,  must  start  an  hour  and 
a half  before  the  appointed  time  to  compel  un- 
willing feet  into  the  path  of  knowledge,  and  stories 
of  children  who  manage  to  arrive  half  an  hour 
before  the  closing  time  in  order  to  kindly  swell 
the  statistics  of  attendance.  Then  there  is  the 
usual  prejudice  against  the  unpractical  nature  of 
the  curriculum,  and  its  slavish  similarity  to  the 
boys’  course.  But  after  all  discounting  of  stat- 
istics and  allowance  for  the  undercurrent  of 
revolt,  there  is  evidently  a good  deal  of  honest 
educational  work  being  done  in  Baroda,  with  some 
measure  of  success.  There  is  even  some  talk  of 
creating  a Central  Women’s  Department,  where 
special  needs  might  receive  full  consideration. 

12  Public  Instruction  Report,  Bombay,  1910,  p.  24. 


Sidelights  on  Some  Native  States  15 1 

One  Inspectress,  a Parsi  lady,  is  at  present 
working  there,  and  assistants  are  shortly  to  be 
appointed. 

In  the  great  Mohammedan  State  of  Hyderabad 
progress  is  naturally  slower.  Though  the  greater 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  are  Hindus,  the 
Moslem  influence,  proceeding  from  the  Nizam’s 
Court,  is  the  predominating  one.  The  Wesleyan 
and  American  Baptist  missions  began  pioneer 
work  in  the  Primary  education  of  girls  about 
1880,  and  have  steadily  developed  it  by  tactful 
measures  to  higher  stages.  Effort  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  has  been  made  only  in  recent 
years,  and  is  not  yet  a very  important  factor, 
though  the  Nizam’s  parda  school  at  the  capital 
is  the  beginning  of  better  things.  In  1905  there 
were  only  4467  girls  under  instruction  out  of  a 
population  of  over  eleven  million  ! 13 

Mysore  also  owes  its  first  movement  towards 
female  education  to  missionary  influence.  In 
1840  the  first  mission  school  for  girls  was  opened 
in  Bangalore,  and  in  1868  the  first  Government 
school.  As  in  other  parts  of  India,  girls  are  to  be 
found  in  the  hobli  or  local  boys’  school,  but  the 
usual  difficulties  prevent  this  method  from  being 
really  effective.  A great  impulse  was  given  to 
the  whole  enterprise  not  only  in  Mysore  but  in 
all  southern  India  by  the  establishment,  in  1881, 
of  the  Maharani’s  Girls’  School  in  the  capital. 
The  Maharani  has  also  taken  a close  personal 
interest  in  its  progress.  This  school,  raised  to  the 
13  Imperial  Gazetteer  of  India. 


152  Education  of  Women  of  India 

dignity  of  a college,  ranks  as  a first-class  institu- 
tion ; its  Head  is  a student  from  Newnham 
College,  and  the  rest  of  the  staff  has  proportional 
qualifications.  The  education  is  entirely  free,  but 
entrance  at  first  was  limited  only  to  high-caste 
families,  and  its  extension  now  to  Christians  and 
respectable  girls  of  low  caste  is  under  various 
restrictions.  As  a result  the  college  has  done 
much  to  break  the  barrier  which  exists  between 
high-caste  women  and  education.  The  cur- 
riculum includes  the  Kindergarten  stage  and  a 
department  of  domestic  science.  There  are  at 
present  some  400  pupils,  including  many  Brahman 
widows,  who  are  being  trained  as  teachers,  and 
also  some  former  pupils  who  return  to  complete 
their  course,  bringing  their  children  with  them. 
Besides  this  splendid  effort  in  the  capital,  the 
Government  has  encouraged  the  formation  of 
local  committees  for  the  development  of  education 
in  the  different  districts.  By  1904  there  were 
243  girls’  schools  and  colleges,  with  a creditable 
percentage  of  four  girls  in  the  hundred  at  school. 
The  London  Missionary  Society  and  others  have 
extensive  work  here,  and  contribute  considerably 
towards  these  statistics.  Probably  the  most 
striking  feature  in  the  educational  situation  in 
Mysore  is  the  introduction,  in  1908,  of  definite 
religious  teaching  in  the  Government  schools.  This 
subject  is  more  fully  treated  in  a subsequent 
chapter. 

Next  to  Baroda,  the  southern  State  of  Travan- 
core  has  the  highest  percentage  of  girls  at  school, 


Sidelights  on  Some  Native  States  153 

namely,  23.3%.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact 
that  31%  of  the  population  are  Christians,  and 
to  the  thorough  work  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society ; but  the  present  Maharaj  stands  for 
educational  reform,  and  an  official  effort  is  also 
made  for  the  advancement  of  women.  A some- 
what similar  impetus  to  that  lent  by  the 
Maharani’s  College  was  given  to  the  education 
of  girls  in  Travancore  by  the  establishment  there 
of  the  Maharajah’s  College  for  girls  under  a fully 
qualified  English  Head-mistress,  who  has  since 
been  succeeded  by  an  Indian  lady.  These  two 
Indian  institutions  stand  out  beyond  all  others 
as  examples  of  progressive  native  policy  on  wise 
lines. 

The  great  group  of  Rajput  States  in  the  heart 
of  which  the  British  Government  holds  under  its 
direct  control  the  key  lands  of  Ajmer-Merwara, 
have  a history  of  romance  and  chivalry  which 
might  well  have  augured  a leading  place  for  their 
women  in  the  modern  movement,  and  yet  it  is 
just  this  very  chivalry  which  shields  them  from 
its  touch.  The  Rajput  princesses  of  the  ancient 
days  were  no  pale,  languishing  maidens.  They 
sallied  forth  armed  and  on  horseback  to  lead  a 
forlorn  hope,  or  closed  the  gates  of  the  castle 
against  a lord  who  returned  without  the  spoil  of 
victory  from  the  field.  When  the  doom  of  their 
tribe  was  at  hand  and  the  Moslem  hosts  surged 
round  the  sacred  city  of  Chitore,  they  passed  in 
solemn  procession  to  one  common  nuptial  fire, 
while  their  lords  perished  in  the  wild  holocaust 


154  Education  of  Women  of  India 

of  johdr .14  What  wonder  that,  where  the  women 
were  of  this  temper,  their  husbands  and  sons  were 
able  to  defy  all  odds  ! 15  Children  of  the  sun  and 
of  the  moon  with  all  the  glory  of  a mythic 
ancestry,  the  Rajputs  have  held  apart  from  the 
seeming  decadence  of  literary  culture.  True, 
there  is  the  story  of  Jey  Singh  of  the  one  hundred 
and  nine  virtues,  whose  mathematical  calcula- 
tions in  the  seventeenth  century  rank  with  those 
of  European  scholars,  but  he  stands  alone  and 
reveals  by  contrast  the  prevalent  conditions.  The 
character  of  the  rulers  has  thus  in  modern  times 
influenced  educational  progress  amongst  their 
people,  though  only  a very  small  percentage  of 
these  are  actually  of  Rajput  descent.  Alwar 
was  the  first  State  to  move  in  1842,  and  three 
years  later  Jaipur.  It  was  not  till  some  twenty 
years  after  that  any  official  movement  was  made 
on  behalf  of  women.  The  first  girls’  school  was 
opened  at  Bharatpur  in  1866,16  but  the  progress 
has  been  very  slow  with  little  headway.  In  1901 
only  two  women  out  of  every  thousand  could  read. 
In  1905  there  were,  over  the  whole  group  of  States, 
only  fifty-three  girls’  schools,  including  the  mission 
schools,  and  some  of  these  were  in  a very  poor 
state  of  efficiency.  In  J aipur,  which  may  be  taken 

14  The  great  “ war-sacrifice  of  honourable  death  ” 
practised  by  the  Rajputs.  When  resistance  was  un- 
availing, they  chose  death  in  battle  rather  than 
surrender. 

15  From  The  Land  of  the  Princes,  Gabrielle  Festing. 

16  Imperial  Gazetteer. 


Sidelights  on  Some  Native  States  155 

as  the  most  advanced  State  educationally,  the 
Government  supports  some  eleven  schools  for 
girls.  The  principal  one  of  these  in  the  capital 
is  supplied  with  splendid  quarters.  What  money 
can  do  apart  from  personality  has  been  done. 
The  school,  however,  suffers  most  acutely  from  the 
prevailing  difficulty  of  an  inefficient  staff.  Some 
of  the  assistant  teachers  themselves  are  barely 
beyond  the  stage  of  being  able  to  read  and  write, 
and  thus  the  school  as  a whole  lacks  the  attraction 
which  is  necessary  to  popularize  education  in  a 
community  where  the  hereditary  tendency  is 
against  it.  The  marvel,  however,  is  not  that  the 
school  is  not  thoroughly  modern,  but  that  it  is 
there  at  all ; and  if  we  remember  the  rapid  strides 
which  have  been  made  in  other  parts  of  India  from 
even  smaller  beginnings,  it  augurs  well  for  the 
future  of  Jaipur.  Mission- work  in  Native  States 
depends  greatly  on  the  personal  relations  which 
the  pioneers  succeed  in  establishing  with  their 
rulers,  and  the  United  Free  Church  Mission  has, 
since  its  first  entrance  in  1866  to  the  Native 
State  of  Rajputana,  been  exceedingly  tactful  in 
this  matter.  Its  educational  work  for  boys  has 
been  well  developed  and  has  helped  very  consider- 
ably in  the  general  advance  ; on  the  women’s  side 
a great  deal  of  careful  pioneer  work  has  been  done 
by  means  of  small  schools  and  zenana  visiting. 
There  are  at  present  sixteen  of  such  schools  with 
a total  register  of  four  hundred  in  six  different 
States,  also  in  J aipur  and  elsewhere ' there  is  a 
considerable  number  of  women  under  regular 


156  Education  of  Women  of  India 

instruction  in  the  zenanas.  The  efficiency  of  the 
schools  varies  according  as  they  are  more  or  less 
accessible  to  the  regular  visitation  of  an  English 
lady  worker.  The  work  is  entirely  Primary  as 
the  parda  custom  is  strict,  and  the  children  are 
withdrawn  at  about  eight  years  of  age. 

The  British  District  of  Ajmer-Merwara  does 
not,  strictly  speaking,  fall  within  the  purview  of 
this  chapter,  but  as  it  is  essentially  the  key  to  all 
Rajasthan,  its  conditions  have  a reflex  influence 
on  the  States,  and  the  relation  of  the  educational 
problems  is  a very  vital  one.  The  Government, 
while  upholding  the  necessity  of  women’s  educa- 
tion, is  greatly  hampered  in  its  efforts  by  financial 
considerations.  The  office  of  Inspectress,  held 
since  1871  by  a European  lady  educated  in  India, 
lapsed  in  1892,  and  since  then  there  has  been  no 
systematic  effort  to  train  teachers  or  effectually 
to  supervise  and  co-ordinate  the  Government  and 
independent  schools.  There  are  in  all  seven 
schools  directly  maintained  by  the  Govern- 
ment, all  of  primitive  type,  quartered  in  rooms 
and  courtyards  rented  in  the  bazaar,  and  of  the 
140  pupils  only  twelve  are  in  the  second 
Standard.  The  Government  Report  frankly 
acknowledges  the  inefficiency  of  these  schools 
and  urges  the  re-appointment  of  an  Inspectress. 
The  energies  of  the  United  Free  Church  Mission 
have  been  largely  devoted  in  the  past  decade  to 
the  education  of  their  famine  orphans  and  the 
girls  of  the  Christian  community.  Their  Girls’ 
Boarding-School  in  Nasirabad  is  a well-equipped 


The  Alphabet  Class,  Nasirabad 


Sidelights  on  Some  Native  States  157 

institution,  and  Normal  work  is  under  considera- 
tion. The  tradition  of  Primary  schools  for  non- 
Christians,  since  the  first  was  founded  in  1862, 
and  of  systematic  zenana  teaching,  has  been  well 
maintained,  and  there  are  now  about  thirteen 
such  with  over  four  hundred  pupils.  There  is, 
however,  no  really  first-class  education  provided 
for  the  women  of  the  non-Christian  community, 
nor  any  attempt  to  meet  the  educational  need  of 
the  changed  times.  The  new  spontaneous  element 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  educational  scheme  of  the  Arya 
Samaj,  which  has  apparently  a more  religious 
aspect  here  than  in  other  provinces.  They  have 
two  schools  for  girls  in  Ajmer : one  an  orphanage 
with  twenty-eight  pupils  under  an  honorary 
mistress  ; another,  the  Arya  Putri  Pathshala,  is  an 
excellent  vernacular  Primary  school  with  some 
provision  for  further  instruction.  The  Head 
mistress  is  a fully  trained  teacher  brought  from 
another  province,  and  the  school  throughout 
showed  evidence  of  order  and  system.  There  are 
over  sixty  girls  on  the  roll,  and  it  seemed  in  every 
way  the  most  efficient  institution  for  non-Christians 
in  the  district.  The  most  striking  testimony  to 
the  new  spirit  and  the  new  desire  for  progress  was 
found  in  a private  school  conducted  in  her  own 
house  by  the  widow  of  a former  leader  of  the  Arya 
community.  It  is  true  that  in  Ajmer  the  saying 
is  still  current  that  there  cannot  be  two  pens  in 
one  house,  meaning  thereby  that  to  educate  a girl 
is  either  to  compass  her  own  death  or  that  of  her 
future  husband ; but  here  some  thirty-five  girls, 


158  Education  of  Women  of  India 

drawn  not  entirely  from  the  Arya  Samaj  but  also 
from  the  leading  orthodox  castes,  came  daily  at 
their  own  expense  to  get  such  learning  as  might 
help  to  fit  them  for  life  in  its  newer  aspects.  The 
Head-mistress,  who  had  studied  with  her  former 
husband,  was  a highly  cultured  Indian  lady  with 
a beautiful  and  attractive  grace  of  manner,  full 
of  enthusiasm  for  her  work,  but  almost  pathetically 
conscious  of  the  failure  of  her  school  to  attain  the 
ideals  she  had  set  before  her.  “ I know  geography 
ought  to  be  taught  but  I cannot  procure  a 
teacher.”  “ I have  never  even  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  learning  English.”  “ All  my  teachers 
teach  for  nothing  ; it  is  voluntary  work,  and 
education  should  not  be  otherwise.”  The  school 
to  a large  extent  reflected  the  personality  of  the 
Head.  The  attendance  nearly  equalled  the 
number  on  the  roll ; far  from  reward  being  given, 
any  children  who  did  not  come  were  fined  for 
absence  ; several  older  girls  were  there,  including 
some  who  were  married,  and  whose  husbands  were 
away  from  home  also  studying.  The  school  is 
strictly  farda,  for  the  Arya  community  itself  is 
only  gradually  advancing  to  freedom  in  this 
respect,  and  in  any  case  the  older  pupils  from  the 
orthodox  families  would  necessitate  it.  The 
education  given  is  a thorough  grounding  in  the 
Hindi  and  Urdu  vernacular,  with  a limited 
amount  of  Sanskrit  and  careful  instruction  in 
needlework. 

The  whole  situation  in  Ajmer,  taken  as  an 
index  to  the  future  development  of  the  States  of 


Sidelights  on  Some  Native  States  159 

Rajasthan,  points  to  the  need  for  the  establish- 
ment there  of  a first-class  girls’  school  with  an 
English  Head-mistress  to  set  the  standard  for  the 
whole  district,  and  this  is  strongly  advocated  in 
the  Government  Report,  without,  however,  any 
prospect  of  immediate  action.  The  class  from 
which  its  pupils  would  be  drawn  would  be  at  first 
a limited  one,  but  its  presence  would  to  a certain 
extent  increase  the  demand  which  is  slowly  but 
surely  coming  from  men  who  realize  the  new  need, 
and  who  know  an  efficient  school  when  they 
see  it. 

This  very  inadequate  survey  of  the  conditions 
in  some  of  the  leading  Native  States  will  have 
served  its  purpose  if  the  reader  has  gathered  from 
it  that  the  modern  movement  for  the  education 
of  women  is  felt  throughout  the  whole  of  our  vast 
Indian  Empire,  varying  in  degree,  but  commend- 
ing itself  to  the  best  Indian  thought  of  every 
phase.  It  is  not  now  a question  of  sporadic 
missionary  effort  or  of  a policy  enforced  by 
Government,  but  of  a stream  which  is  influencing 
the  life  of  the  people  with  an  ever  increasing 
momentum. 


VIU 


BOMBAY 

“ The  true  reformer  has  not  to  write  on  a clean  slate. 
His  work  is  more  often  to  complete  the  half-written 
sentence.”  - — Ranade. 

THE  problem  of  women’s  education  in  the 
Bombay  Presidency  is  to  a certain  extent 
that  of  the  whole  of  India  in  miniature. 
Nothing  is  better  calculated  to  impress  the  mind 
with  the  variety  of  races  and  social  conditions, 
the  conflicting  ideals  and  different  stages  of 
progress  throughout  the  whole  Indian  Empire, 
than  a study  of  these  in  a smaller  area  at  close 
quarters.  Under  the  rule  of  the  Governor  are 
some  20,000,000  souls,17  75  % Hindus,  20  % Moslem, 
1%  Jains,  rather  over  1%  Christians,  and  some 
81,000  Parsis,  whose  social  influence  is  out  of  all 
proportion  to  their  numerical  importance ; a 
territory  of  123,000  square  miles,  embracing  the 
sun-beaten  deserts  of  Sind,  the  fertile  plains  of 
Gujerat,  the  Deccan  districts  ever  subject  to  the 
spectre  of  famine,  the  Carnatic  regions  with  their 
glorious  forests,  and  the  low-lying  tract  below  the 

17  Statistical  Abstract  of  British  India,  1911.  Ap- 
proximate figures. 


160 


Bombay  1 6 1 

Ghats  with  its  well-watered,  broad  reaches  of 
alluvial  soil — climates  offering  almost  every 
variety  of  Indian  possibilities  except  perhaps  that 
of  extreme  cold.  About  a third  of  this  territory 
belongs  to  Native  States  with  a varying  relation 
to  the  Presidency  Government,  and  politically 
linked,  though  not  strictly  speaking  attached,  is 
the  important  State  of  Baroda  with  its  2,000,000 
inhabitants.  Linguistically  considered,  the  pro- 
vince has  four  main  languages,  Marathi,  Gujerati, 
Kanarese,  and  Hindi,  with  numerous  linked 
dialects,  and  English  will  by  no  means  take 
you  everywhere,  as  some  Anglophiles  fondly 
imagine.  Like  all  the  rest  of  India  it  is  a land  of 
villages,  only  19%  of  the  people  living  in  towns 
of  more  than  5000  inhabitants  ; a land  of  child- 
marriage,  only  50%  of  the  girl  children  under 
ten  being  unmarried,  and  a land  therefore  of  young 
widows.  These  three  facts  involve  a great  diffi- 
culty in  the  distribution  of  schools,  a brief  cur- 
riculum, and  a dearth  of  teachers.  From  a 
historical  point  of  view  the  province  presents 
stratum  upon  stratum  ; early  records  point  to  an 
Aryan  settlement  on  the  Indus  amongst  a people 
of  Dravidian  stock  ; Persian,  Bactrian,  and  White 
Hun  invasions  have  left  their  mark,  but  always 
the  prevailing  element  is  the  Hindu — absorbing 
and  Hinduizing  the  successive  streams.  The 
peaceful  dominance  of  Asoka 2 is  felt,  and  the 
Buddhist  establishments  whose  records  are  left 

Asoka,  ruler  of  India,  b.c.  272-231.  He  is  known 
as  the  Constantine  of  Buddhism. 


1 62  Education  of  Women  of  India 

in  the  rock  caves  and  temples  must  have  been 
numerous  and  far-reaching.  There  are  tales  of 
chiefs  who  honoured  alike  Siva,  Buddha,  and 
Jaina  In  the  seventh  century  a.d.  trade  brought 
the  Parsis,  a people  of  a book  and  a faith 
which  still  preserves  them  as  a unity.  In  the 
eighth  century  came  the  first  wave  of  the  Moslem 
tide  which  was  destined  in  later  centuries  to 
overrun  the  Deccan.  In  the  fifteenth  century 
came  the  Portuguese  in  search  of  “ spices  and 
Christians  ” ; there  are  caves  to-day  where  the 
ruins  of  Catholic  altars  lie  side  by  side  with 
Buddhist  semi-reliefs,  mingled  with  the  ever- 
present Hindu  forms  and  figures.  The  romance 
of  the  province,  however,  lies  in  the  history  of  the 
Mahrattas,  whose  forts  dominate  the  frowning 
eminences  of  the  Ghats,  memorials  of  the  gradual 
consolidation  of  the  scattered  Hindu  chieftains, 
of  prolonged  struggle  with  Delhi,  of  internal  strife, 
of  defeat,  of  victory,  until  finally  a new  power 
from  the  West  came  to  impose  the  dominance  of 
the  Pax  Britannica  upon  the  conflicting  forces. 
The  Presidency  assumed  something  like  its 
present  form  between  1803  and  1827,  and  the 
history  of  Western  education  may  be  said  to 
begin  with  Mountstuart  Elphinstone  (1819-1827), 
in  whose  Governorship  the  first  schools  were 
opened. 

The  same  factors  which  we  found  to  be  present 
elsewhere,  working  in  favour  of  female  education 
or  against  it,  are  felt  in  the  Bombay  Presidency. 
In  some  places,  especially  in  the  country  districts, 


Bombay  163 

there  is  strong  opposition  to  the  establishment  of 
any  kind  of  schools  at  all,  and  most  of  all  to  girls’ 
schools.  To  the  zemindar  or  villager  the  estab- 
lishment of  a school  merely  means  that  educational 
and  revenue  officers  will  come  round  worrying 
him  to  support  it.  The  children  are  wanted  for 
work  in  the  fields,  and  where  the  margin  of  sub- 
sistence is  so  small  it  is  no  wonder  that  every 
mite  of  labour  is  needed.  In  sixty  villages  out 
of  every  hundred  there  is  no  school  at  all.  The 
women  are  conservative ; they  have  not  been 
educated  themselves  : why  should  their  daughters 
be  educated  ? Above  all  it  is  not  dustier 
(custom),  and  with  that  the  would-be  recruiting 
agency  strikes  against  a solid  argument  which  it 
will  take  decades  to  remove.  But  to  set  against 
this,  there  is  the  fact  that,  speaking  broadly,  it  is 
not  a parda  country.  Except  for  the  Moslems, 
who  are  in  considerable  minority,  and  a small 
proportion  of  the  Hindus  influenced  by  tradition 
and  contact  with  Mohammedanism,  especially  in 
the  district  of  Sind,  the  women  of  both  high  and 
low  caste  have  a certain  degree  of  freedom,  and 
their  general  position  is  greatly  influenced  by  the 
presence  of  the  Parsi  ladies,  who  mingle  in  society 
very  much  as  do  their  sisters  of  the  West.  To  see 
an  Indian  lady  walking  on  the  streets  of  Bombay 
is  no  strange  sight,  as  it  still  is  in  Calcutta,  in 
spite  of  the  half-shy  efforts  of  Christian  and 
Brahma  Samaj  women.  The  indigenous  Indian 
feeling  in  favour  of  education  is  stronger  than 
in  the  district  round  Calcutta,  and  there  is  more  of 


164  Education  of  Women  of  India 

the  orthodox  element  in  it.  Poona,  the  centre 
of  the  Deccan  Brahmans  and  of  cultured 
Hinduism,  stands  for  a certain  well-defined 
attitude  towards  education  in  which  women 
share.  The  Prabhu  Brahmans  especially  are 
noted  for  the  many  cultured  women  in  their 
ranks ; they  do  not  marry  young,  and  as  a rule 
afford  almost  equal  opportunity  to  boys  and  girls. 
The  Prarthana  Samaj,3  an  unorthodox  meeting- 
ground  for  the  “ multitudes  in  the  valley  of 
decision,”  throws  its  emphasis  on  women’s 
education,  and  the  general  impression  given  is 
that,  while  all  educated  India  has  talked  about 
this  crucial  problem,  here  much  honest  effort  has 
been  made  to  solve  it.  It  is  a very  pure  form  of 
patriotism  which  leads  a Hindu  student  to  give 
up  two  hours  daily  of  his  college  time  to  voluntary 
teaching  in  a girls’  High  school,  yet  this  is  by  no 
means  rare  in  Bombay.  The  Parsi  element  and 
influence  has  also  been  a very  potent  one.  The 
leading  Parsi  men  in  the  early  days  spared  neither 
money  nor  personal  trouble,  with  the  result  that 
to-day  out  of  1465  girls  receiving  higher  education, 
1054  are  drawn  from  the  Parsi  community,  and 
their  contribution  to  the  supply  of  teachers  is  a 
very  important  one. 

But  this  leads  us  to  a detailed  study  of  the  early 
history  of  the  movement,  and  its  present  condi- 
tions in  relation  to  the  different  communities. 

3 A society  similar  to  the  Brahma  Samaj,  but  less 
organized  and  not  so  strong  numerically.  Cf.  New  Ideas 
in  India.  Morrison. 


Bombay  165 

Owing  to  the  influences  described,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that,  at  the  last  Quinquennial  Survey, 
Bombay  stood  second  only  to  Burma  in  its  per- 
centage of  girls  at  school,  and  a glance  at  the 
gradually  increasing  number  shows  the  steady 
upward  progress. 

1881 — 1.2  per  cent,  of  girls  of  school  age  at  school. 

1896—3.75 

1901 — 4.74 

I9°7 — 5-9 

1910 — 7.2  ,,  ,,  ,,  ,, 

In  earlier  days  it  is  impossible  to  get  separate 
figures.  Where  girls  shared  in  education  it  was 
incidentally  in  the  boys’  schools,  or  separately  in 
mission  schools,  and  they  owed  nothing  to  any 
special  effort  on  their  behalf ; even  to  day  21% 
of  the  girls  at  school  are  studying  in  boys’  schools. 
The  initial  impulse  came  from  Mrs  Margaret 
Wilson  and  other  workers  of  the  Scottish  Mission, 
who  from  1824  onwards  gradually  gathered 
together  a few  girls  for  instruction.  The  first 
step  taken  by  Indians  was  due  to  the  Students’ 
Literary  and  Scientific  Society  connected  with 
the  Elphinstone  College  in  Bombay,  when  five 
leading  Indian  members  volunteered  in  1849  to 
open  schools  for  girls  in  their  own  houses.  One 
of  these  was  Mr  Dadabhai  Nauraji,  India’s 
“ Grand  Old  Man,”  who  may  be  regarded  as  the 
pioneer  of  women’s  education  in  the  Presidency, 
if  not  in  all  India,  and  who  still,  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year,  advocates  their  cause  by  his  pen.  A 
description  of  the  celebrations  in  honour  of  his 


1 66  Education  of  Women  of  India 

birthday  organized  recently  by  the  " Gujerati 
Stri  Mandal,”  a women’s  society  founded  in  1909 
to  further  the  educational  and  social  progress  of 
women,  may  give  some  idea  of  the  distance  which 
has  been  traversed  since  these  early  days.  Some 
thousand  women  in  their  graceful  Indian  dresses, 
diaphanous  draperies  and  brilliant  jewels,  gathered 
together  in  a hall  which  they  themselves  had 
garlanded  and  cross -garlanded  with  sweet-scented 
wreaths  in  his  honour,  while  on  the  platform  the 
Rani  of  Gondal  presided,  surrounded  by  all  the 
leading  Indian  women  in  Bombay  who  were 
interested,  either  as  organizers  or  teachers,  in 
women’s  education.  A short,  terse  speech  was 
made  by  Miss  Cursetji,  whose  main  interest  and 
energy  for  the  last  twenty-five  years  have  been 
devoted  to  the  Alexandra  Girls’  High  School, 
founded  by  her  father  in  1863 ; another  by  the 
Hindu  Head-mistress  of  the  High  School  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Scientific  and  Literary  Society ; 
another  by  a young  Parsi  B.A.,  Head  mistress  of 
the  first  Hindu  Girls’  High  School ; another, 
in  the  general  interests  of  education,  by  a 
Saraswat  Brahman  lady,  whose  husband  is  Prime 
Minister  in  an  adjacent  Native  State — and  the 
one  European  member  of  the  audience  realized 
that  India  has  initiative  and  purpose  of  her  own, 
and  women  of  whom  she  may  well  be  proud. 
The  progress  in  the  different  communities  and  the 
share  which  is  borne  by  the  Government  and 
private  efforts  respectively  can  best  be  seen  by 
the  accompanying  tables.  Private  effort  divides 


Bombay  1 67 

itself  naturally,  as  elsewhere,  into  the  work  of 
Christian  missions  and  of  the  Indian  community, 
but  a further  sub-division  is  necessary  in  the  latter 
in  consequence  of  the  special  position  of  the  Parsis. 

Of  the  Hindu  effort  first  : — the  Scientific  and 
Literary  Society,  after  its  initial  private  efforts, 
proceeded  with  a definite  educational  policy  in 
the  founding  of  schools,  and,  though  at  present 
only  one  school  in  Bombay  is  directly  under  its 
auspices,  its  influence  in  combating  prejudice  is 
considerable.  This  school  is  exceedingly  popular, 
as  the  girls  are  passed  quickly  into  the  higher 
stages,  thus  earning  a certain  matrimonial  pres- 
tige, though  it  is  unfortunately  true  that  a girl 
from  the  Matriculation  class  on  transference  to 
a mission  school  had  to  be  placed  three  classes 
lower  to  find  her  proper  level.  In  consequence  of 
the  amateur  staff  of  voluntary  teachers  who 
supply  the  upper  forms,  this  school  does  not  rank 
as  one  of  the  eleven  High  schools.  This  feature 
is  interesting,  as  it  shows  the  earnestness  of 
purpose  in  the  members  of  the  Society,  but  from 
an  educational  point  of  view  the  system  does  not 
seem  very  effective.  As  a whole  the  school 
presents  no  specially  Indian  features,  except  that 
French  is  excluded  and  Sanskrit  is  compulsory  as  a 
Matriculation  subject.  Religion  is  taught  by  a 
special  teacher,  and  there  are  daily  prayers.  One 
Hindu  school  in  Poona  ranks  as  a genuine  High 
school,  and  one  other  in  Bombay  hopes  shortly 
to  be  classed  as  such.  This  Chanda-Ramji  School 
owes  its  foundation  to  a legacy  left  for  the  build- 


1909-191° 

Table  of  Schools  for  Indian  Girls  in  Bombay  Presidency 


168  Education  of  Women  of  India 


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1 70  Education  of  Women  of  India 

ing  of  a huge  gilded  idol.  The  idol  was  indeed 
built,  but  the  times  have  advanced,  and  only 
some  10%  of  the  funds  were  thus  utilized.  The 
school  is  excellently  staffed  with  fourteen 
mistresses,  four  of  whom  are  graduates,  and  with 
additional  pandits  for  Sanskrit  and  mathematics 
for  some  two  hundred  girls ; there  is  a splendid 
hall  for  drill  and  games,  a well-stocked  science 
museum,  and  practically  every  modern  apparatus. 
Religion  is  taught  from  a book  of  Hindu  Moral 
Maxims  by  a special  teacher.  The  Gujerati  Stri 
Mandal,  mentioned  above,  has  its  own  functions 
in  endeavouring  to  secure  the  attendance  at  its 
afternoon  classes  of  young  married  girls  and 
others  from  the  ^aria-keeping  sections.  Educa- 
tionally, their  influence  is  probably  important 
rather  in  the  direction  of  making  the  next  genera- 
tion accessible  to  proper  education  than  in  much 
actual  attainment  on  the  part  of  the  present 
pupils.  They  also  organize  regular  lectures  on 
such  subjects  as  “ The  Aim  of  Life,”  “ The  Ad- 
vantages of  a Spiritual  Temperament,”  and  “ The 
Duties  of  Motherhood,”  from  which  may  be  seen 
the  close  connexion  in  the  mind  of  the  Indian 
woman  between  religion  and  education.  The 
Prarthana  Samaj,  though  they  have  a weekly 
women’s  meeting  for  the  discussion  of  ethical 
subjects,  and  a “ Sunday  School,”  do  not  organize 
any  separate  secular  education,  and  their  girls  are 
to  be  found  wherever  the  best  education  seems 
obtainable.  In  Hyderabad  there  are  five  large 
girls’  Primary  schools,  managed  by  the  Hindu 


Bombay  1 7 1 

Reform  Association,  which  the  Government 
Report  notes  as  doing  useful  work.  It  will  thus 
be  seen  that  the  actual  Hindu  contribution  to 
organized  education  is  not  an  extensive  one, 
nor  has  it,  as  in  Bengal,  any  special  character- 
istic ; but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
Hindus  take  good  advantage  of  the  mission  and 
Government  schools,  and  are  even  found  in  some 
of  the  Parsi  High  schools.  Though  their  per- 
centage of  girls  in  the  High  school  stage  is  small 
in  comparison  with  their  overwhelming  majority 
in  the  community,  it  is  probably  true  that  every 
orthodox  girl  venturing  to  continue  her  school 
career  beyond  the  Primary  classes,  does  so  in 
spite  of  the  opposition,  if  not  of  her  own  immediate 
family,  at  least  of  her  grandmother  and  cousins. 

The  Mohammedan  factor  is  numerically  a small 
one ; the  girls  belonging  to  families  of  the  better  class 
are  educated  at  home  or  in  one  of  the  mission  “ Eng- 
lish teaching  ” 7 schools,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
note  one  Mohammedan  lady  of  good  social  position 
guiding  a school  for  poor  Moslem  girls  in  her  own 
house.  Two  Mohammedan  schools  are  also  on 
the  Government  list  of  Primary  schools,  but  the 
pupils  are  mostly  in  the  lower  Primary  stage. 

The  Parsi  contribution  is,  as  has  already  been 
indicated,  a very  considerable  one,  and  in  its 
extent,  thoroughness,  and  modern  character,  it  is 

7 “ English-teaching  ” schools  form  a special  category 
in  the  Bombay  Presidency.  There  is  no  limitation  to 
the  number  of  Indian  pupils,  and  they  are  not  bound 
by  the  Anglo-Vernacular  Code.  Cf.  p.  179. 


172  Education  of  Women  of  India 

quite  what  one  might  have  expected  of  the 
“ French  of  the  East.”  A few  notes  on  their 
general  position  are  needed  to  show  their  attitude 
towards  education.  The  Parsis  are  one  of  the 
most  adaptable  races  of  the  world,  and  in  Bombay, 
where  46,000  of  them  reside,  they  have  been  the 
leaders  in  women’s  education.  Lady  Frere  speaks 
of  a time  in  her  remembrance  when  not  a single 
Parsi  lady  could  speak  English,  whereas  to-day  it 
is  almost  as  much  a common  tongue  among  the 
wealthy  families  as  Gujerati,  which  they  adopted  on 
their  original  immigration  to  India.  In  1842  Lady 
Arthur  opened  Government  House  for  the  first  time 
to  Indian  ladies,  and  the  Parsis  were  naturally  the 
first  to  respond.  To-day  all  the  larger  social  func- 
tions in  Bombay  are  attended  by  Indian  ladies,  the 
large  majority  of  whom  are  Parsi.8  They  are  to  be 
seen  daily  at  the  Princess  Mary  Gymkhana,  a ladies’ 
club,  playing  Badminton  and  croquet,  and  discuss- 
ing matters  of  interest  with  their  friends,  some  wear- 
ing the  orthodox  sari  and  sacred  shirt  symbolic  of 
their  ancient  faith,  others  in  modem  European 
dress.  Socially  they  have  been  much  affected  by 
the  hedonism  of  the  West.  Religiously  their 
evolution  has  been  rather  negative  than  positive. 
Zoroastrianism  as  a cult  had  survived  only  in  curi- 
ous forms  and  ceremonies,  and  the  sacred  language 
of  its  books  was  unknown  even  to  the  priests  ; the 
educated  Parsi  inclined  to  agnosticism  or  theosophy 
while  retaining  his  ceremonial  adherence  to  a religion 

8 Hindu  ladies  attended  first  about  1863  in  response  to 
special  efforts  made  on  their  behalf  by  Lady  Frere. 


Bombay  173 

which  was  the  binding  tie  of  his  community. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  modem  Renaissance 
and  general  revival  of  the  ethnic  faiths,  the  sacred 
books  have  been  translated  ; brief  extracts 
published  in  dainty  vellum  volumes,  together  with 
the  Lord’s  Prayer  and  Christian  hymns  (with 
significant  omissions),  are  used  as  manuals  of 
devotion.  When  the  Parsi  girls’  schools  were 
first  started  no  religious  instruction  was  given, 
but  now  a special  Zoroastrian  committee  exists 
for  preparing  literature  and  sending  an  instructor 
to  each.  Quick  to  perceive  the  general  bearing 
of  British  rule  and  modem  education  on  their 
position  as  a wealthy  minority  in  an  alien  land, 
the  Parsi  leaders  adopted,  in  1857,  a definite 
educational  policy  for  their  women.  They  sepa- 
rated from  the  Scientific  and  Literary  Society  and 
formed  one  of  their  own,  the  Parsi  School  Associa- 
tion, to  which  they  gave  most  liberally  both  in 
money  and  personal  service.  Other  leading  Parsis 
founded  special  schools,  and  it  is  difficult  when 
looking  down  the  Government  list  to  know  which 
to  select  for  description.  Two  perhaps  may  be 
taken  as  typical,  one  of  the  three  Association 
schools  and  the  Alexandra  Native  Girls’  High 
School.  The  former  owes  its  special  character- 
istics to  the  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Associa- 
tion, Khan  Bahadur  Chichgar,  who  visited  the 
best  schools  in  Europe  in  order  to  study  the 
Herbartian  principles  of  education  in  actual 
practice.  He  was  the  first  to  introduce  this 
method  in  the  Bombay  Presidency,  and  has  done 


174  Education  of  Women  of  India 

so  without  imitation  of  detail,  and  with  the  most 
wonderful  adaptation  to  the  environment  of  Parsi 
children.  The  school  is  kept  continually  supplied 
with  the  latest  appliances  and  the  newest  books, 
and  Mr  Chichgar  has  for  many  years  visited  the 
school  on  Saturday  afternoons  to  train  the  teachers 
in  the  use  of  them.  The  result  is  that,  though 
the  teachers  may  hold  no  Normal  certificates, 
the  school  is  alert  and  keen,  from  the  youngest 
baby  rejoicing  in  plaiting  its  neighbour’s  hair,  to 
the  girls  of  the  fifth  form,  whose  curriculum  is 
varied  by  ambulance  work,  cooking,  and  dress- 
cutting. On  the  occasion  of  the  writer’s  visit 
every  child  had  some  practical  handwork  of  its 
own  to  exhibit ; the  action  songs  were  definitely 
related  to  the  subsequent  lesson  on  weights  and 
measures,  while  the  mud  modelling  of  the  Bombay 
water-system  done  by  one  of  the  higher  forms 
showed  a thorough  sense  of  neatness  and  propor- 
tion, with  an  intelligent  knowledge  of  the  principle 
involved.  The  shadow  of  an  examination  never 
falls  upon  this  school ; it  aims  at  providing  a 
thorough  training  for  life  for  middle-class  Parsi 
girls,  and  its  success  in  doing  so  in  entirely  due  to 
the  unsparing  devotion  and  labour  given  to  it  by 
its  founder — a man  engaged  in  ordinary  business. 

The  Alexandra  Native  Girls’  High  School  dates 
from  the  early  days  of  pioneer  work  and  of  un- 
sympathetic criticism.  Some  20  pupils  were 
registered  for  its  first  opening  in  1863,  and  to-day 
there  are  about  120,  practically  as  many  as  the 
staff  of  the  institution  is  meant  to  deal  with.  Its 


Bombay  1 75 

aim  is  to  give  Parsi  girls  of  respectable  families 
the  “ blessings  of  an  English  education  upon 
sound  moral  principles,”  and  though  the  blessing 
may  be  a doubtful  one,  the  school  is  certainly 
thoroughly  English  in  every  way.  Since  1890, 
Matriculation  candidates  have  been  sent  up  with 
a good  record  of  success.  There  is  no  higher 
teaching  of  the  vernaculars,  and  French  is  taken  as 
the  alternative  Matriculation  subject.  The  Head- 
mistress is  from  England  and  is  fully  qualified, 
but  the  rest  of  the  staff  are  Parsis,  only  one  of 
whom  had  Normal  qualifications.  The  school  is 
managed  by  a committee  of  leading  Parsis,  and 
though  it  is  under  Government  inspection  it 
receives  no  grant,  as  the  income  from  fees  and  the 
endowment  is  sufficient.  This  school  may  be 
taken  as  fairly  typical  of  a first-class  Parsi  High 
school.  Moreover,  education  has  advanced  so 
far  in  the  community  that  private  enterprise  is 
no  longer  an  impossiblity,  and  can  even  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Girton  High  school,  be  made  financially 
successful  without  the  Government  grant.  The 
dividing  line  between  business  and  philanthropy 
may  at  times  be  difficult  to  draw,  but  the  spirit 
is  much  to  be  commended  which  keeps  a school 
of  this  type  alive  and  efficient,  when  in  some 
cases  the  nett  profit  to  the  proprietress  is  barely 
a living  wage.  Taken  as  a whole,  the  Parsis  have 
provided  most  thoroughly  for  the  education  of 
their  girls,  both  rich  and  poor.  Of  the  eleven 
High  schools  under  private  management  in  the 
Presidency,  seven  are  Parsi ; of  the  Middle 


176  Education  of  Women  of  India 

schools  four,  and  of  the  Primary  schools,  whether 
separate  or  forming  departments  of  the  High 
schools,  fifteen.  Of  this  provision  ample  advan- 
tage is  taken,  and  the  proportion  of  daily  attend- 
ance to  the  numbers  on  the  roll  is  amazing  in 
comparison  with  Upper  India. 

Wherein,  then,  does  the  system  fail,  or  is  it 
perfect  ? Criticism  seems  ungracious  where  so 
much  energy  and  thought  have  been  expended, 
but  in  the  main  there  are  two  things  which 
strike  a visitor — the  lack  in  the  teachers  of  a 
sense  of  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of  their 
profession,  with  the  consequent  effect  of  such  a 
lack  on  the  outlook  of  their  pupils,  and  the  de- 
orientalizing  curriculum.  These  problems  are, 
however,  common  to  the  whole  educational 
situation,  and  one  could  hardly  expect  even  the 
Parsi  community  to  be  quite  immune. 

It  is  difficult  to  turn  from  the  indigenous  Indian 
element,  which  has  naturally  something  in  it  very 
spectacular  and  attractive  to  the  Western  visitor, 
to  the  quiet  record  of  the  immense  and  steady 
contribution  of  Christian  missions  to  education 
in  the  Bombay  Presidency,  and  to  realize  that 
the  main  inspiration  of  the  former  came  from  the 
gradual  and  unconscious  infiltration  of  the 
Christian  ideal  of  womanhood.  For  more  than 
twenty  years  the  missionaries  were  the  sole 
pioneers  in  the  face  of  much  opposition.  The 
pupils  were  gained  at  first  through  the  influence 
of  Hindu  and  Parsi  gentlemen  interested  in  the 
Scottish  mission.  Progress  was  naturally  slow, 


Bombay  177 

there  was  a lack  of  continuity  in  the  British 
workers,  and  continuity  is  essential  in  a country 
where  personality  counts  for  so  much  ; but  by 
1827  three  hundred  girls,  some  of  good  caste, 
were  attending  school  in  the  Konkan  district, 
where  the  Scottish  pioneers  first  started.  After 
the  transference  of  the  mission  Mrs  Wilson  had 
managed,  by  1830,  to  organize  six  little  schools  in 
Bombay  with  120  pupils,  the  story  of  the  winning 
of  each  individual  girl  being  almost  a romance  in 
itself.  For  some  time  the  children  were  given 
weekly  paisa  9 as  a reward,  and  would  demand 
their  wage  like  weary  labourers,  a practice  still 
extant  in  some  of  the  Native  States,  and  a great 
contrast  to  the  sum  of  407  rupees  now  received 
as  fees  in  one  of  the  mission  institutions  which 
traces  its  origin  to  these  very  schools.  The  Parsis 
in  one  street  asked  the  mission  to  instruct  all  the 
children  therein,  including  sixteen  girls.  The 
Beni  Israel  also  proved  an  accessible  community, 
and  thus  gradually  the  number  of  girls  increased. 
The  second  stage  of  missionary  education  was 
reached  when  boarding-schools  were  created  for 
Indian  Christian  girls  who  could  be  retained  for  a 
reasonable  time,  and  some  of  whom  could  be 
utilized  as  teachers.  About  1885  the  first  syste- 
matic attempt  at  Normal  training  is  noticed,  a 
line  of  work  which  is  perhaps  at  present  the  most 
important  missionary  contribution  to  the  whole 
scheme,  and  capable  of  further  development. 
Mission  schools,  as  might  be  expected,  form  an 
9 Farthings. 

M 


178  Education  of  Women  of  India 

overwhelming  majority  in  the  list  of  aided  schools. 
Of  the  11  High  schools  they  have  2,  of  the  34 
Middle  schools  14,  and  of  the  276  Primary  schools, 
practically  all  except  those  indicated  above  and 
a few  others.  Certain  societies  educate,  as  yet, 
mainly  the  children  of  their  own  communities  ; 
others,  such  as  the  American  Board  for  Foreign 
Missions,  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission,  have  a con- 
siderable number  of  schools,  both  in  the  cities  and 
in  the  villages,  for  non-Christian  children.  The 
Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission  makes  work 
of  this  kind  a special  feature.10  The  small  pro- 
portion of  High  schools  is  partly  accounted  for 
by  the  fact  that  the  Victoria  High  School  at 
Poona,  founded  by  Mrs  Sorabji,  and  still  carried 
on  most  effectively  by  her  daughter  as  a Christian 
school,  is  classed  as  a boys’  school.  It  is  attended 
by  the  children  of  many  of  the  leading  Parsi 
families,  and  is  a curious  example  of  successful 
co-education  up  to  an  advanced  stage.  Also 
both  in  Bombay  and  Poona  there  is  a consider- 
able number  of  good  European  schools  in  connec- 
tion with  Roman  Catholic  and  Episcopal  sister- 
hoods, to  which  15%  of  Indian  girls  may  be 
admitted  on  payment  of  double  fees.  These 
places  are  always  eagerly  sought.  The  Girgaum 
High  School,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Z.B.M.M., 

10  Detailed  information  can  be  obtained  in  the  reports 
of  the  various  societies.  There  are  26  Protestant 
societies  in  the  Presidency,  most  of  whom  have  educa- 
tional work  for  girls. 


Bombay  179 

may  be  taken  as  typical  of  a first-class  “ English  - 
teaching  ” mission  High  school.  About  150 
girls  can  be  seen  gathered  together  at  morning 
prayer,  two-thirds  of  whom  are  non-Christian 
(Parsis,  Moslems,  Beni  Israel,  and  a few  Hindus)  ; 
some  have  come  in  their  motor-cars,  others  from 
quite  poor  homes.  The  curriculum  extends  from 
three  Kindergarten  classes  to  the  seventh  English 
standard,  in  which  the  girls  go  up  for  Matriculation. 
English  is  used  as  a medium  throughout,  which 
makes  the  school  popular  with  Indians  who  desire 
purely  English  education,  but  it  is  naturally  very 
difficult  for  the  pupils  in  the  early  stages,  in  spite  of 
the  Government  regulation  that  the  teacher  must 
be  able  to  translate  into  Marathi.  There  are  four 
English  mistresses  and  several  well-qualified  Anglo- 
Indians.  A new  department  has  recently  been 
added  for  the  training  of  English  Kindergarten 
students  for  the  Froebel  examination,  but  this  is 
not  yet  sufficiently  staffed  to  ensure  good  success. 
Two-thirds  of  the  income  are  derived  from  fees 
and  one-third  from  the  Government  grant. 

The  Ambroli  School  of  the  United  Free  Church 
Mission  is  Hindu  throughout,  and  at  present  takes 
its  pupils  only  as  far  as  the  fifth  Anglo- Vernacular 
standard.  All  the  instruction  in  the  lower  forms 
is  in  Marathi,  and  it  is  a stiff  battle  that  Marathi 
babies  have  to  fight  with  their  letters.  There  are 
three  scripts  to  learn — one  printed,  one  cursive, 
and  one  abbreviated — and  it  is  no  wonder  that, 
with  this  task  to  master,  Indian  parents  tend  to 
look  on  Kindergarten  expedients  for  “ time 


180  Education  of  Women  of  India 

wasting  ” as  a diversion  from  the  royal  road  to 
knowledge.  The  teachers  here,  with  the  exception 
of  one  Anglo-Indian  for  English  in  the  upper 
forms,  are  all  Indian,  and  some  are  non-Christians, 
but  the  school  is  continually  visited  by  a fully 
trained  Scottish  lady,  who  divides  her  time  between 
this  and  another  school.  Fees  are  paid  regularly, 
and  there  is  a good  municipal  grant.  An  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  American  Mission  is  the  stress 
laid  at  their  orphanage  and  boarding-school  upon 
independence  in  character.  Each  pupil  must  do 
two  hours’  industrial  work,  and  may  in  addition 
work  longer  for  payment,  which  is  credited  to  her 
account  for  payment  of  fees.  Thus  some  of  the 
pupils  in  the  Matriculation  class  were  beyond  the 
usual  age,  but  had  contributed  considerably  to 
their  own  maintenance.  The  industrial  training 
of  this  mission  is  very  highly  developed,  both  in 
Bombay  and  at  Ahmednagar.  The  Primary 
schools  in  the  villages  have  the  usual  character- 
istics which  we  have  studied  elsewhere,  and  it  has 
only  to  be  noted  that  this  work  is  capable  of 
practically  unlimited  extension. 

No  account  of  women’s  education  in  the  Presi- 
dency would  be  complete  without  reference  to 
the  work  of  Pandita  Ramabai,11  which  stands 
outside  all  mission  control,  and  is  the  unique 
contribution  of  an  Indian  woman  to  the  future 
victory  of  the  Christian  ideal  among  her  own 
people.  Since  the  Sharada  Sadan  (the  abode  of 
wisdom)  near  Poona  was  started  in  1892,  thou- 
11  Cf.  Life  of  Pandita  Ramabai,  Helen  Dyer. 


Bombay  1 8 1 

sands  of  Indian  widows  have  been  given  the 
opportinuty  of  a self-supporting,  self-respecting 
life,  and  a vision  of  what  self-sacrifice  may  mean. 
The  education  given  on  strictly  intellectual 
lines  is  naturally  not  carried  to  a High  stage,  but 
is  thorough  in  type.  The  Pandita  dreads  the 
Westernization  of  her  girls,  and  stands  for  all  that 
is  good  in  simple  Indian  life. 

Though  mission  education  bulks  so  largely  in 
the  statistics  of  voluntary  schools,  and  has  been  the 
pioneer,  it  must  be  realized  that  it  does  not  hold 
the  same  position  in  this  as  in  other  provinces, 
nor  influence  the  districts  as  a whole.  A brief 
glance  at  the  figures  of  Primary  schools  (Table, 
page  1 68)  supported  by  other  public  bodies,  both 
in  British  territory  and  in  the  Native  States,  will 
prove  the  contrary  to  those  who  imagine  the 
mission  factor  still  to  be  the  dominant  one. 

The  Government  function  is  here,  as  in  the 
other  provinces,  largely  a co-ordinating  and 
directing  one  as  regards  the  girls’  schools.  The 
six  important  Government  institutions — two  High 
schools  with  Primary  schools  attached,  at  Poona 
and  at  Ahmedabad,  and  four  Training  schools— 
are  a direct  outcome  of  the  effort  to  standardize 
and  raise  the  general  tone  of  education  in  the 
Presidency.  They  are  linked  by  the  system  of 
“ stipends  ” to  all  the  Primary  schools.  The 
institution  at  Poona  under  an  Indian  lady,  Miss 
Bhore,  is  excellently  housed,  and  had  at  the  time 
of  my  visit  200  girls  in  the  High  school,  200  in 
the  vernacular  practising  school,  and  about  88 


1 82  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Normal  students.  The  Inspectress  regrets  that 
there  is  not  a Government  High  school  in  Bombay 
to  raise  the  general  standard.  Apart  from  these 
institutions  directly  under  the  Central  authority, 
a great  deal  has  been  done  with  public  funds 
under  the  Municipalities  and  Local  Boards. 
It  has  been  impossible  to  ascertain  exactly  when 
these  schools  under  public  authority  were  first 
started,  but  the  system  must  have  grown  up 
somewhere  in  the  “ eighties.”  At  first  the  girls  of 
the  lower  castes  went,  as  they  still  go  in  many 
villages,  to  the  boys’  schools ; in  other  places 
separate  schools  gradually  sprang  up  wherever 
there  were  enlightened  Indian  members  of  the 
Municipalities  to  welcome  the  official  suggestion. 
In  1901,  the  number  of  girls’  Primary  schools  in 
Bombay  necessitated  the  appointment  of  an 
Indian  Inspectress  to  work  under  the  Munici- 
pality, and  shortly  afterwards  an  English 
Inspectress  was  appointed  from  home  to  the 
Indian  Educational  Service,  in  order  to  develop 
women’s  education  in  certain  portions  of  the 
Presidency.  Her  time  was  largely  occupied  in 
the  inspection  and  examination  of  Training 
colleges  and  High  schools  (European  and  Anglo- 
Vernacular)  and  in  dealing  with  questions  of 
general  educational  policy  as  “ expert  adviser  ” 
to  the  Department.  Since  Miss  Ashworth’s 
retirement,  no  English  Inspectress  has  been 
appointed  in  the  Indian  Educational  Service  to 
this  Presidency.  The  value  of  the  municipal  and 
local  board  schools,  if  viewed  from  the  numerical 


Bombay  183 

standpoint  of  increasing  the  women  literates  in 
the  district,  is  unquestioned,  but  when  all  allow- 
ance has  been  made  for  exceptions,  the  real  gain 
to  the  community  when  the  schools  are  not  well 
staffed  and  lack  constant  supervision  is  very 
questionable.  Miss  Corkery,  the  present  In- 
spectress, emphasizes  the  need  for  constant 
inspection.  “ I believe  that  if  the  Municipalities 
employed  a trained  supervisor  to  visit  each  school 
daily  the  work  would  be  carried  on  more  methodi- 
cally. From  my  twenty-five  years’  experience  of 
the  Hindu  female  teacher  I have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  she  has  no  power  of  initiative  and 
no  administrative  capacity.  She  will  work  hard 
and  faithfully  under  supervision,  but  as  soon  as 
that  is  withdrawn  her  natural  apathy  asserts 
itself.”  12  When  in  addition  to  her  own  " natural 
apathy  ” the  teacher  has  possibly  had  no  Normal 
training  herself,  and  suffers  from  untrained  assis- 
tants, the  spirit  of  the  school  is  apt  to  flag. 
Adequate  inspection  of  these  schools  would  un- 
doubtedly necessitate  the  appointment  of  women 
Deputy-Inspectors.  The  question  of  premises  is 
also  a very  vital  one.  The  Indian  child  is  accus- 
tomed to  be  one  of  a crowd,  to  eat  and  sleep,  to 
live  and  die  as  one  of  a crowd  ; but,  in  school,  if 
it  is  to  attain  to  individuality,  it  must  learn  the 
value  of  space.  Yet  in  one  of  the  best  Bombay 
municipal  schools  which  takes  its  brighter  pupils 
up  to  the  Anglo-Vernacular  sixth  Standard,  I 
found  some  300  girls  crowded  into  the  space 
ia  Public  Instruction  Report,  Bombay,  1910,  p.  27. 


184  Education  of  Women  of  India 

really  needed  for  about  half  that  number. 
Several  crowded  pens  were  to  be  seen  round  a bit 
of  flat  roof,  too  wet  in  the  rains  and  too  sunny 
at  other  times  for  drill,  one  of  the  pens  so 
crammed  with  infants  that  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible to  step  from  one  division  to  another,  infants 
in  different  classes  within  touch  of  one  another, 
and  the  whole  pervaded  with  a pungent  odour 
from  the  fruit  market  below — surely  this  is  not 
for  the  good  of  the  city  or  of  the  children.  “ In 
Ahmedabad  the  girls  are  compelled  to  sit  amid 
insanitary  and  evil-smelling  surroundings,  to  study 
the  advantages  of  pure  air.”  13  It  would  not  be 
difficult  to  multiply  instances.  On  the  other 
hand  some  municipal  schools  are  well  housed  and. 
staffed,  and  the  system  must  not  be  condemned 
when  it  is  capable  of  improvement.  The  problem 
is  partly  a financial  one,  and  partly  once  more  the 
question  of  the  supply  of  teachers  and  of  the  future 
Inspectresses.  These  children  pay  a few  paisa,  in 
fair  proportion  to  the  income  of  their  parents,  where- 
as in  many  High  schools  receiving  a Government 
grant  the  fees  might  with  advantage  be  raised.14 

When  the  situation  in  the  Presidency  is  viewed 
as  a whole  the  present  need  is  seen  to  be  not  so 
much  to  secure  more  girls  by  artificial  means  or 
to  induce  more  to  stay  to  the  higher  stage,  for 
there  is  a steady  current  in  favour  of  education 
which  is  slowly  acquiring  momentum,  but  rather 
to  raise  the  standard  of  teaching  as  a whole  and 

13  Public  Instruction  Report,  Bombay,  p.  27. 

14  Ibid.,  p.  18. 


Bombay  185 

so  to  adapt  the  curriculum  that  those  children 
who  do  pass  through  the  schools  will,  in  intel- 
lectual attainment  and  character,  commend  the 
system  and  prove  a force  attractive  to  others. 

The  problem  of  the  teacher  is  one  that  is 
apparent  throughout,  alike  in  Indian,  mission,  and 
public  authority  schools.  Taking  the  Primary 
teacher  first,  from  what  ranks  is  she  usually  drawn, 
and  what  are  the  attractions  to  the  profession  ? In 
consequence  of  the  shortness  of  supply  the  school- 
mistress is  very  often  found  to  be,  in  fact,  an 
elderly  man.  This,  however,  is  becoming  less 
frequent.  A glance  at  the  table  on  page  168  shows 
that  the  majority  of  students  in  training  are 
lower-caste  Hindus,  and  that  native  Christians 
form  about  a fourth  of  the  whole.  Of  the  1200 
women  actually  engaged  now  in  the  teaching 
profession,  I have  been  unable  to  obtain  a religious 
classification,  but  presumably  the  proportion 
holds  good.  In  the  Ahmedabad  Training  College 
15  of  the  students  are  wives  or  daughters  of 
masters,  19  are  wives  of  students,  15  are  wives  of 
other  men,  42  are  unmarried,  and  36  are  widows. 
Taking  this  college  as  typical,  and  assuming  the 
certainty  of  marriage  on  the  part  of  the  spinsters, 
it  means  that  in  many  cases  teachers  will  be 
available  in  couples  for  the  village  schools.  Those 
whose  husbands  are  not  teachers  are  often  difficult 
to  locate,  and  in  many  cases  may  drop  out  of  the 
work.  It  is  questionable  whether  the  employ- 
ment of  married  women  in  the  schools  is  advis- 
able : on  the  one  hand,  it  seems  at  present  the 


1 86  Education  of  Women  of  India 

only  method  to  secure  the  necessary  female 
teachers ; on  the  other  hand,  the  British  Govern- 
ment is  facing  even  at  home  the  complications 
which  the  element  of  married  women’s  work 
introduces  into  the  labour  market.  True,  Indian 
life  is  different,  for  the  babies  come  with  their 
mothers  to  school,  and  a kind  Government  supplies 
the  necessary  cradles  and  ayah,  but  there  are 
undoubted  hardships.  “ The  life  of  the  village 
schoolmistress  has  not  many  compensations  ; in 
addition  to  the  long  hours  at  school  she  has 
arduous  home  duties  to  perform.  In  many  cases 
she  is  the  sole  breadwinner  for  five  or  six,  none  of 
whom  consider  it  incumbent  on  them  to  help  her 
with  the  household  work.  Rising  at  five  in  the 
morning  or  earlier,  she  has  to  begin  her  daily  time- 
table, which  extends  over  seventeen  hours.  It  is 
marvellous  that  she  is  able  to  work  as  cheerfully 
as  she  does.”  15  The  permanent  hope  is  in  the 
widow,  and  it  is  encouraging  to  see  a better  pro- 
portion of  them  here.  The  spinster  is  at  best 
available  in  mission  schools  for  a short  period  till 
her  marriage.  Many  trained  Christian  girls  teach 
for  several  years,  often  living  under  the  super- 
intendence of  the  missionary,  and  make  most 
efficient  teachers.  The  supply  of  such,  however, 
is  in  no  way  equal  to  the  demand.  It  is  difficult 
for  one  not  fully  acquainted  with  the  Indian 
standard  of  life  to  judge  of  the  financial  aspect, 
but  the  impression  gathered  from  the  Govern- 
ment Reports  is  that  increased  salaries  might 
15  Public  Instruction  Report,  Bombay,  p.  29. 


Bombay  187 

attract  a better  class.  There  is  a proverb  that 
when  begging  fails  it  is  well  to  learn  to  be  a 
teacher.  The  salaries  paid  by  mission  agencies 
are,  as  a rule,  slightly  less  than  those  paid  by 
municipal  authorities,  just  as  the  salaries  of 
educational  missionaries  are  less  than  the  cor- 
responding salaries  at  home.  As  regards  training, 
a great  effort  is  being  made  on  all  sides  to  secure 
that  all  the  teachers  either  take  a preliminary 
course  or  go  up  for  the  qualifying  examination  : 
at  present  the  proportion  is  44%.  Any  girl  in  a 
municipal  school  who  shows  any  ability  or  desire 
can  pass  free  of  charge  as  a “ stipendiary  ” to  the 
Government  Training  Colleges  with  the  stipulation 
that  she  shall  teach  thereafter  with  a salary  for  at 
least  two  years.  Five  mission  schools  have  Normal 
divisions  attached  in  which  much  the  same  condi- 
tions prevail.  The  city  of  Bombay  has,  however, 
no  proper  provision  of  opportunity.  None  of  the 
Government  Training  Colleges  are  situated  there, 
and,  apart  from  Mr  Chichgar’s  work,  which  is  limited 
to  the  Parsi  School  Association,  there  is  only  a Satur- 
day morning  training  class  under  the  auspices  of  a 
United  Missionary  Committee,  which  is  not  largely 
attended.  Poona,  on  the  other  hand,  has  two  if  not 
three  Training  institutions,  and  the  circumstances 
seem  to  point  towards  redistribution.  A Hindu  girl 
is  much  more  likely  to  continue  her  education  if  it 
does  not  entail  leaving  her  relatives.  Miss  Wilson, 
Head  mistress  of  the  Girgaum  High  School,  in  a 
paper  recently  read  at  the  Bombay  Missionary 
Conference,  emphasized  the  need  of  more  funds  to 


1 88  Education  of  Women  of  India 

aid  existing  institutions,  and  of  fixing  a definite 
rate  of  salaries  and  a date  after  which  none  but 
trained  teachers  would  be  allowed  in  any  school 
receiving  a Government  grant.  The  latter  sugges- 
tion is  possibly  somewhat  premature,  as  it  might 
mean  the  closing  of  many  schools  or  letting  them 
lapse  into  the  worse  state  of  “ unrecognized  ” 
institutions.  The  training  of  the  Secondary 
teacher  is  a different  problem.  The  impression 
current  in  Great  Britain  a decade  ago  that  only 
people  who  knew  nothing,  or  who  could  not  teach, 
went  to  training  colleges,  seems  still  to  prevail ; 
moreover,  there  is  no  college  where  women  teachers 
can  receive  a thorough  Secondary  training.  The 
Inspectress’  reply  to  an  official  inquiry  as  to  the 
possibility  of  raising  the  general  standard  indicates 
the  need  of  a central  Government  Training  College 
with  a graded  system  in  the  aided  schools,  and 
special  salary  grants  to  all  Secondary  schools 
staffed  by  trained  teachers.16  There  does  not, 
however,  seem  any  prospect  of  direct  action,  either 
on  the  part  of  Government  or  of  missionary 
societies.  There  are  few  vacancies  in  the 
Government  Normal  College,  and  though  one 
woman,  a Goanese  student,  has  recently  been 
studying  there,  the  course  is  not  adapted  to 
women  students.  A few  of  the  teachers  go  up 
for  the  Secondary  Examination  without  a quali- 
fying course  or  after  attendance  at  a series  of 
lectures  given  at  the  convent  in  Bombay.  There 
is  also  a great  lack  of  enthusiasm  for  the  profession 
16  Public  Instruction  Report,  Bombay,  p.  16. 


Bombay  189 

as  such ; teaching  is  felt  to  bemore  or  less  a trade 
finishing  at  certain  definite  hours  and  limited  in  its 
influence  to  these.  A most  attractive  set  of  lectures 
on  various  educational  problems  arranged  by  the 
Principal  of  the  Government  Normal  College,  had 
an  average  attendance  of  some  seven  out  of  possible 
hundreds.  In  the  case  of  the  women  this  is  perhaps 
largely  due  to  the  enervating  influence  of  the 
climate  and  the  consequent  lassitude  after  a long 
day’s  work,  but  there  is  undoubtedly  a lack  of  some 
unifying  and  inspiring  influence  which  would  have 
a strong  reflex  effect  on  the  tone  of  the  schools. 

The  variation  of  the  curriculum  has  to  a 
certain  extent  been  solved  in  this  Presidency  as 
regards  the  Primary  stage.  Bombay  was  the 
first  province  to  issue  a different  set  of  readers 
for  girls,  and  those  now  in  use,  comprising  the 
study  of  heroes  and  heroines  from  a moral  point 
of  view,  simple  natural  phenomena,  domestic 
economy,  etc.,  seem  admirably  adapted  to  them. 
The  Code  prescribes  the  usual  elements  with  a 
study  of  forms,  colours,  familiar  objects,  drill, 
games,  native  accounts,  and  geography  beginning 
in  the  third  form,  and  Indian  history  in  the 
fourth.  The  difficulty  begins  after  the  fourth 
Vernacular  stage,  corresponding  to  the  first 
Anglo- Vernacular.  After  that  stage  the  shadow 
of  the  Matriculation  begins  to  fall,  and  so  heavily 
that  in  the  departmental  schedule  of  studies,  the 
highest  Standard  (VII.  A.-V.)  is  left  blank. 
Formerly  this  august  portal  could  be  passed  very 
quickly  by  a well-crammed  child.  I met  one 


190  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Parsi  girl  who  entered  the  University  at  the  age 
of  thirteen.  The  age  was  raised  by  the  Univer- 
sities Commission  to  sixteen.  A great  contro- 
versy has  recently  raged  round  the  place  of  the 
vernaculars  in  the  University,  and  the  question 
of  the  use  of  English  as  a medium  of  instruction 
in  the  school.  In  regard  to  the  latter,  the  real 
educators  argued  the  impossibility  of  the  proper 
comprehension  of  a difficult  subject  through  a 
foreign  medium,  and  the  tendency  to  parrot-like 
repetition  of  formula  or  fact,  while  the  actively 
“ Indian  ” party,  failing  to  see  the  real  point  at 
issue,  held  that  any  other  method  would  weaken 
the  standard  of  English  and  handicap  the  Indian 
in  public  service.  The  Department  have 
sanctioned  the  use  of  the  vernacular  till  a later 
stage,  but  though  some  teachers  spoke  warmly 
in  favour  of  this  method,  it  has  not  yet  gone 
beyond  experiment.  Certainly  the  teaching  of 
history  throughout  the  Matriculation  forms  seems 
exceedingly  weak.  The  Code  for  the  Anglo- 
Vernacular  Standards  in  relation  to  the  Matricula- 
tion, and  the  possible  substitution  for  it  of  the 
School  Final  Examination,  a more  practical  test, 
is,  however,  under  Government  consideration  and 
the  defects  of  the  present  Code  need  not  be 
enlarged  upon.  The  variation  of  the  Code  for 
girls  is  a further  question,  and  the  planning  of  a 
suitable  curriculum  is  a matter  which  eminently 
lends  itself  to  private  enterprize.  The  de- 
orientalizing  influence  with  Parsi  girls  is  not  so 
dangerous  as  with  other  Indian  girls,  but  there  is 


Bombay  1 9 1 

surely  something  wrong  when  “ once  a certificate, 
no  more  books  ” is  a not  infrequent  cry.  Some 
schools  already  vary  their  curriculum  for  girls  : 
one  mission  report  speaks  of  an  alternative  course 
better  calculated  to  fit  the  girls  for  home  life, 
leaving  advanced  mathematics,  etc.,  to  such  only 
as  have  the  necessary  mental  ability  and  physical 
strength.  This  effort  has  met  with  the  approval 
of  the  Inspectress  and  of  the  more  thoughtful 
parents.  Matriculation  has,  however,  in  certain 
circles  a distinct  matrimonial  value,  and  it  is 
pathetic  to  see  older  girls,  struggling  at  a distance 
of  two  forms  from  the  desired  goal,  who  would 
bitterly  resent  a change  to  a curriculum  more 
suited  to  their  diverse  but  not  inferior  powers. 

It  is  here  that  the  opportunity  lies  for  English 
educators  who  can  help  Indian  women  through 
an  exceedingly  difficult  transitional  period  to 
realize  the  meaning  of  modern  culture,  which, 
while  possessing  universal  elements,  must  be 
evolved  by  every  nation  on  the  lines  of  its  own 
genius  and  characteristics.  In  Bombay  and  in 
Poona  there  are  Indian  women  who  think  deeply 
on  these  things,  and  who  await  as  yet  some  con- 
structive policy  in  the  success  of  which,  though 
the  energy  and  initiative  must  be  of  the  West, 
their  share  would  not  be  lacking.  If  this  con- 
structive policy  is  to  start  from  the  Christian 
standpoint,  if  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  to  dominate  the 
new  culture,  the  women  of  Anglo-Saxon  countries 
must  let  their  religion  dominate  them  as  never 
before,  and  win  them  out  to  the  larger  service. 


IX 


UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION 


“ Travellers  all  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

In  quest  of  the  self  it  is  best  to  be ; 

Comrades  all  in  the  getting  and  giving, 

Prythee,  tell  us,  what  else  are  we  ? 

Girls  who  go  hopefully  forth  to  the  morrow, 

In  quest  of  the  Women  they  wish  to  be, 

Friends  who  look  down  on  the  fair,  flying  present. 
Wistfully,  lovingly — this  are  we.” 


From  the  “ Lai  Bagh”  Chronicle. 


FIRM  and  steady  step  on  the  lower  rungs 


of  the  ladder  is  a fair  promise  of  the 


ultimate  ascent,  and  after  a time  in- 


credibly short  since  the  first  beginnings  of 
Western  education  for  women  in  India,  the 
girl  graduate  is  found  issuing  from  the  portals 
of  the  University. 

Pioneer  in  many  senses,  with  a world  of  ideal- 
istic possibilities  surrounding  her  career,  the 
Indian  woman  has  proved  the  quality  of  her 
mental  capacity ; she  has  successfully  stood  the 
most  strenuous  of  tests,  and  is  prepared  to  take 
her  part  as  a leader  of  her  sex  and  as  a contri- 
butor to  the  Feminist  Movement.  The  member 
of  Congress  sees  in  her  a political  factor ; the 


192 


University  Education  193 

papers  which  advocate  social  reform  hail  her  as 
a new  force  which  will  influence  circles  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  their  propaganda  ; the  educator  trusts 
that  here  at  last  is  someone  with  the  brain  power 
and  insight  to  indicate  the  true  lines  for  the 
education  of  Indian  women ; the  missionary 
ponders  on  her  possibilities  for  the  Indian  Church 
and  the  Indian  home — while  India,  the  real 
India,  the  silent  multitude  of  India’s  women, 
knows  little  and  cares  less.  This  strange 
phenomenon  seems  no  longer  of  their  number  ; 
she  has  stepped  away  with  her  new  and  dazzling 
robes  from  the  old  tradition,  from  the  memories 
of  the  twilight  and  its  tales  to  a new  and  untried 
world.  And  yet  in  a true  sense  she  is  still  one 
with  them,  one  with  them  in  instinct,  in  thought, 
in  hereditary  traits,  and  fitted,  as  no  Western 
could  ever  be,  to  act  as  the  mediator  betwixt  the 
old  and  the  new.  The  possibilities  of  the  Indian 
woman  graduate  have  to  a certain  extent  been 
proved  in  subsequent  careers ; on  the  other 
hand,  the  results  of  the  whole  system,  as  regards 
the  average  student,  have  not  entirely  justified 
the  hopes  built  upon  it.  A brief  examination  of 
the  actual  facts  and  conditions  will  prove  the 
best  introduction  to  the  problems  which  underlie 
them. 

The  five  Universities  of  India — Calcutta,  Madras, 
Bombay,  Allahabad,  and  Lahore — the  constitu- 
tions of  which  resemble  that  of  the  University  of 
London,  are  open  to  any  woman  who  can  pass  the 
qualifying  entrance  examination.  Their  subse- 
ts 


N 


194  Education  of  Women  of  India 

quent  studies  must  be  conducted  in  a college  duly 
recognized  by  Government  and  in  affiliation  with 
a University.  These  colleges  vary  as  first  and 
second  grade  according  to  the  stage,  Intermediate 
or  Final  B.A.,  to  which  they  are  able  to  take  their 
students.  Of  the  175  colleges  scattered  over 
India  10  are  specially  women’s  colleges,  but 
women  are  also  found  studying  in  mixed  colleges 
under  mission  boards  or  Government.  Of 
Government  institutions  it  may  practically  be 
said  that  no  sex  barrier  exists,  except  where  a 
separate  provision  is  made,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Bethune  College,  Calcutta,  and  the  same  is  true 
to  a less  extent  of  the  mission  institutions.  Thus 
women  students  are  found  in  the  Elphinstone 
College,  Bombay,  in  the  Presidency  College, 
Madras,  and  in  the  Government  College,  Rangoon, 
studying  side  by  side  with  men  under  the  same 
conditions.  The  Wilson  College,  Bombay,  is  an 
important  example  of  the  mixed  mission  college. 
The  ten  women’s  colleges  in  affiliation  with  one 
or  other  University  1 are  as  follows  : — 

Number 

of 

Students.2 


The  Bethune  College,  Calcutta  (first  grade)  . 40 

The  Diocesan  College,  Calcutta  (first  grade)  . 32 

The  Isabella  Thoburn  College,  Lucknow 

(first  grade)  (A.M.M.)  . . . .20 

The  Sarah  Tucker  College,  Palamcottah 

(second  grade)  (C.M.S.)  ...  6 

The  Maharani’s  College,  Mysore 


1 There  are  in  addition  three  Training  Colleges. 

2 Approximate  number  only. 


University  Education 


195 


Number 

of 

Students. 

The  Maharajah’s  College,  Trevandrum 
St  Bede’s  Convent  College,  Simla  (first  grade) 

Auckland  House  School,  Simla  (second  grade) 
European  Girls’  High  School,  Allahabad 
(second  grade)  ..... 
Woodstock  Girls’  School,  Landour  (second 
grade)  ...... 

Of  these,  the  last  four  are  mainly  for  Eurasian 
girls,  and  fall  outside  the  scope  of  our  inquiry. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Bethune  and  the  two 
institutions  in  Native  States,  they  are  all  under 
Christian  management.  The  word  “ college  ” is 
highly  misleading.  The  English  reader  pictures 
an  institution  parallel  to  Girton  or  Somerville, 
with  a full  staff  of  women  tutors,  supplemented 
by  University  lectures,  whereas  these  colleges 
consist  in  most  cases  of  small  groups  of  girls, 
sometimes  only  one  or  two,  who  remain  after 
Matriculation  in  their  old  school,  studying  for 
the  most  part  under  the  same  mistresses,  and  with 
little  or  no  sense  of  any  transition  in  their  career. 
If  no  girls  are  fitted  to  proceed  to  the  higher 
stages,  the  college  as  such  may  lapse  for  the  time 
being  ; thus  only  students  in  training  as  teachers 
are  returned  in  the  Panjab  report  for  1910,  in 
spite  of  the  two  “ colleges  at  Simla,”  whereas 
the  Diocesan  School  appears  officially  for  the 
first  time  in  the  Bengal  report  as  a college  with  a 
most  creditable  number  of  students  and  an 
efficient  staff.  The  one  outstanding  exception  is 
the  Isabella  Thobum  College,  where  the  college 


196  Education  of  Women  of  India 

department  is  rigidly  separated  from  the  school, 
and  where  the  collegiate  atmosphere  and  sense  of 
corporate  life  are  dominant.  A similar  arrange- 
ment is  being  made  in  the  new  buildings  of  the 
Bethune  College.  Even  in  these  two  cases  there 
is  the  linked  High  School  under  the  same 
Principal,  sharing  in  the  interest  of  the  staff.  A 
women’s  college  in  the  English  sense  of  the  word 
does  not  exist. 

Passing  to  the  students,  the  differences  of  creed, 
as  indicated  in  the  Quinquennial  Returns  of  1907, 
are  seen  in  the  annexed  table.  (See  page  197.) 

This  proportion  is  on  the  whole  maintained 
to-day,  with  the  addition  of  a few  Buddhist  girls 
studying  in  Rangoon,  and  an  increased  propor- 
tion of  Parsis  in  Bombay.  The  actual  numbers 
show  a remarkably  small  fluctuation  within  the 
last  decade,  and  have  not  justified  the  hopes  of 
those  who  expected  a continuation  of  the  four- 
fold increase  of  the  preceding  decade.  In  1891 
there  were  45,  inTgoi,  177  Arts  students.  Taking 
some  figures  from  local  returns,  we  find  the 
following  : — 3 


Arts  Students. 

1901. 

1906. 

I9IO. 

Bengal  .... 

55 

24 

47 

United  Provinces  . 

49 

38 

45 

Burma  .... 

8 

2 

12 

Bombay 

30 

57 

76 

Madras  .... 

p 

? 

37 

Cf.  also  Statistical  Abstract,  British  India,  Table  105. 


Classification  of  College  Students  by  Race  or  Creed 


University  Education 


198  Education  of  Women  of  India 

A marked  increase  is  shown  only  in  the  Bombay 
Presidency  due  to  the  influence  of  the  Parsis. 
The  students  are  drawn  from  varying  ranks  of 
society.  Of  the  Hindu  students  about  a quarter 
are  Brahmans.  Some  are  drawn  from  the  new 
professional  classes,  who  highly  value  education 
for  their  women,  and  can  afford  to  pay  for  it ; 
others  from  the  poorer  members  of  the  Brahma 
Samaj , who  see  in  college  education  a prospect  of 
a career  for  their  daughters  more  in  accordance 
with  their  enlightened  ideas.  Of  the  system  of 
stipends  it  is  difficult  to  form  a judgment. 
Whereas  in  Britain  a scholarship  indicates 
special  ability  tested  by  competition,  in  India  a 
Government  or  private  stipend  is  in  most  cases 
available,  at  any  rate  in  Bengal,  for  any  girl  who 
can  pass  the  required  average  test.  With  luck 
she  may  possibly  also  secure  another  stipend  to 
cover  her  board.  The  “ average  ” girl  is  there- 
fore apt  to  predominate  far  more  largely  than 
in  the  early  stages  of  college  education  in 
Britain  or  America.  There  is  also  a lack  of  the 
element  of  hereditary  culture,  which  has  a very 
definite  contribution  to  make  in  Indian  life,  and 
which  may  be  the  inheritance  of  the  daughter  as 
well  as  of  the  son.  But  where  it  is  impossible  to 
secure  a genuinely  competitive  system  and  the 
only  alternative  is  the  closing  of  the  college  career 
to  the  really  brilliant  girl  of  the  poorer  classes,  the 
question  is  a difficult  one.  In  Calcutta,  practi- 
cally all  the  Bethune  students  belong  to  the 
Brahma  Samaj  ; in  Bombay,  where  the  line  of 


University  Education  199 

separation  between  the  Prarthana  Samaj  and 
orthodoxy  is  very  indefinite,  and  parda  almost 
non-existent,  orthodox  Hindu  students  are  to  be 
found.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that 
these  are  essentially  pioneers,  and  that  the  custom 
of  early  marriage  or  secluded  widowhood  still 
practically  prevents  any  marked  Hindu  element 
amongst  women  students.  In  1903  two  Brahman 
ladies  passed  the  Madras  B.A.  from  the  Maharani’s 
College,  Mysore,  being  the  first  of  their  caste 
there  to  do  this. 

The  Parsi  woman  student  needs  no  comment. 
Independent,  bright,  and  alert,  she  holds  her 
own  in  the  mixed  colleges  of  Bombay  with  the 
utmost  equanimity,  and  has  an  unparalleled  zest 
for  examinations.  In  1886,  the  first  women 
students  entered  Wilson  College,  Ratanbai 
Ardeshir  Vakil  and  her  sister  Meherbai,  daughters 
of  a leading  Parsi  solicitor.  Several  years  before, 
the  University  had  given  women  the  right  to  go 
up  for  examination,  but  only  one  had  made  use 
of  the  permission.  Ratanbai  specialized  in 
French,  and  was  elected  a Fellow  in  1890.  From 
then,  till  her  early  death  in  1895,  she  taught 
French  in  the  college,  and  warm  testimony  to 
her  influence  in  the  college  and  at  home  is  borne 
by  the  Principal.  “ One  could  see  how  the 
education  and  culture  of  women,  instead  of 
creating  a cleft  in  the  life  of  the  family,  as  is  so 
often  erroneously  imagined  by  those  who  oppose 
the  cause  of  female  education  in  India,  proves  a 
means  of  strengthening  its  unity  and  elevating 


200  Education  of  Women  of  India 

its  whole  character.” 4 Her  sister,  Meherbai 
Vakil,  is  a much-respected  medical  woman  in 
Bombay,  and  is  typical  of  a growing  number  of 
Parsi  students  who  have  entered  professional  life 
with  great  credit.  The  brilliant  career  of  Miss 
Cornelia  Sorabji,  a Christian  Parsi,  who  holds  the 
post  of  Legal  Adviser  to  the  Bengal  Government 
for  women  in  parda,  is  too  well  known  to  need 
emphasis.  Two  of  her  sisters  are  Head-mistresses 
of  important  Indian  schools. 

The  Indian  Christian  woman  student  figures 
largely  in  the  returns,  and  the  pioneers  of  the 
movement  were  drawn  from  their  ranks.  This  is 
the  natural  result  of  the  educational  policy 
pursued  by  the  various  missionary  societies,  and 
of  the  later  age  of  marriage  among  Christians. 
Some  of  them  are  mentally  very  well  fitted  for 
their  studies  ; there  are  others  again  who  are 
largely  subsidized  by  public  or  private  funds,  and 
possess  ability  to  pass  the  average  standard,  but 
not  sufficient  mental  power  to  gain  full  benefit  from 
their  training.  Here,  for  instance,  are  two  girls, 
daughters  of  an  Indian  clergyman,  both  passing 
well,  and  taking  employment,  one  as  a Mistress 
in  a Government  school,  the  other  as  an  Inspectress 
in  the  Provincial  Service ; contrast  with  them  a 
trembling,  shrinking  girl  from  a Native  State 
who  has  received  a scholarship  from  her  State 
because  she  has  matriculated  and  because  she  is 
one  of  an  impoverished  family  of  twelve,  a par- 

4 Dr  Mackichan,  in  Preface  to  Ratanbai’s  Translation 
of  Les  Parsis. 


University  Education  201 

ticularly  urgent  case  ! Throughout  her  career 
the  fear  of  failure  and  poverty  intensifies  the 
strain  already  possibly  too  great  for  a delicate 
constitution,  and  a girl  who  might  have  made 
an  excellent  Primary  teacher  is  sacrificed  on  the 
altar  of  so-called  higher  education.  And  yet,  as 
has  already  been  indicated,  the  system  affords  the 
needed  opportunity  for  the  clever  girl,  and 
possesses  this  justification.  The  Christian 
students  are  mostly  to  be  found  in  the  Isabella 
Thoburn  College,  in  Madras,  and  a few  in  Calcutta, 
chiefly  at  the  Diocesan  School  and  College.  Since 
the  latter  was  founded,  about  fifteen  years  ago, 
five  B.A.’s  have  passed  out  and  several  F.A.’s.5 
New  college  buildings  have  recently  been  added 
with  boarding  accommodation  for  forty-five 
resident  students.  It  is  managed  by  the  Com- 
munity of  St  John  Baptist,  known  generally  as 
the  Clewer  Sisterhood.  Miss  Chunder  Mukki 
Bose,  M.A.,6  to  whose  guidance  the  Bethune 
College  has  owed  much  of  its  prestige,  and  the 
late  Lilavati  Singh,  M.A.,  Vice-Principal  of  the 
Isabella  Thoburn  College,  stand  out  as  the  most 
prominent  Indian  Christian  graduates,  while  the 
dramatic  episode  of  Mrs  Nvimabala  Shome’s 
graduation  as  B.A.  at  the  same  time  as  her 
husband  in  Calcutta,  gave  an  object-lesson  in 

6 F.A.  — title  given  to  those  who  have  passed  the 
First  Arts  examination,  corresponding  to  “ Inter- 
mediate.” It  is  abolished  by  some  of  the  Universities. 
Cf.  p.  1 16. 

G Now  married  to  Pandit  Kesha  van. 


202  Education  of  Women  of  India 

matrimonial  equality.  She  subsequently  took 
her  M.A.  in  England,  and  devoted  much  of  her 
life  to  the  organization  of  one  of  the  mission 
High  schools  in  Calcutta.  Indian  Christian 
graduates  are  to  be  found  all  over  India  under- 
taking responsible  work  with  great  credit. 

The  Mohammedan  girl  graduates  cannot  be 
discussed  as  a class,  for  even  if  we  go  back  to  the 
“ glory  of  women,”  the  Sheikha  Shuhda  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  who  lectured  at  Bagdad  on  literature 
and  rhetoric,  they  are  only  found  here  and  there 
as  isolated  figures.  One  Mohammedan  girl  of  a 
well-known  Bombay  family  passed  first  among 
girl  candidates  in  the  Bombay  Presidency  in 
1910,  and  is  now  studying  at  Wilson  College. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  women  students 
of  India  are  a very  heterogeneous  body,  repre- 
senting almost  every  shade  of  religious  opinion, 
and  varying  possibly  in  their  mental  capacity  to 
a greater  extent  than  the  women  of  other  lands. 

The  question  of  the  curriculum  and  of  the 
nature  of  the  studies  required  for  the  degree 
examinations  has  a very  definite  relation  to  the 
numerical  problem  stated  above.  Are  these  of  a 
nature  to  attract  increasing  numbers  ? Are  they 
sufficiently  in  accord  with  the  Indian  ideal  of 
womanhood  or  with  the  aspirations  of  the 
reformers  ? The  facts  are  worth  analysis.  From 
the  first,  the  courses  for  men  and  women  have 
been  identical ; no  temporary  expedient  of  a 
women’s  examination  such  as  the  Cambridge 
Higher  Local,  and  the  St  Andrews  L.L.A.,  has 


University  Education  203 

been  adopted  by  any  of  the  Indian  Universities ; 
women  must  cover  the  same  ground  as  men  or 
none  at  all.  The  various  courses  in  Bombay  are  in- 
dicated in  the  accompanying  diagram.  The  range 
of  subjects  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the 
University  of  London  ; for  the  B.A.  examination, 
the  average  candidate  presents  himself  in  Eng- 
lish, Philosophy,  or  History,  and  one  Classical  or 
Modern  language.  There  is  a corresponding 
scientific  course,  English  remaining  compulsory 
throughout.  The  Intermediate  examination 
covers  a wider  range  of  subjects.  The  details 
differ  in  different  Universities,  but  the  standard 
on  the  whole  is  similar.  Calcutta  alone  requires 
a compulsory  essay  in  the  vernacular  for  the  B.A., 
and  the  emphasis  laid  on  Sanskrit  and  Arabic  is 
not  the  same  as  that  laid  on  Latin  and  Greek  in 
the  Western  Universities.  The  Panjab  University 
has  a separate  Oriental  Course,  for  which  as  yet 
no  woman  has  entered.  The  M.A.  is  given  on 
the  results  of  further  examination,  and,  in  some 
Universities,  after  a fresh  course  of  study.  The 
proportion  of  students  who  go  through  the  whole 
course  is  small : for  every  seventeen  who  pass  the 
Intermediate,  only  five  become  Bachelors  of  Arts, 
and  only  one  a Master.7  I have  been  unable  to 
procure  separate  figures  for  women,  but  appa- 
rently the  proportion  is  even  less,  and  there 
are  very  few  women  who  have  obtained  the  degree 
of  M.A.  The  examination  system  of  the  Univer- 
sities has  been  subjected  to  severe  criticism,  both 
7 Administrative  Problems  of  British  India.  J.  Chailley. 


University  of  Bombay 


204 


Education  of  Women  of  India 


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University  Education  205 

by  enlightened  Indians  and  by  Europeans,  the 
chief  indictments  being  embodied  in  Lord  Curzon’s 
Universities’  Commission  Report  of  1904,  and  we 
find  tentative  reforms  in  the  subsequent  Act. 
The  “ yattering  ” graduate  who  knows  nothing 
and  can  decide  nothing,  but  who  can  repeat  yard 
after  yard  from  any  prescribed  text-book,  is  the 
byword  of  those  who  wish  to  taunt  India, 
and  there  is  a germ  of  truth  in  the  reproach.  The 
effort  to  impart  the  highest  Western  culture 
through  Indian  teachers  who  have  only  partially 
assimilated  it  themselves,  must  prove  to  some 
extent  unsatisfactory.  Since  the  Public  Service 
Commission  in  1886,  Indians  have  been  admitted 
to  the  Educational  Service  in  much  larger  num- 
bers : for  example,  the  Presidency  College  in 
Calcutta  had  in  1880  a complete  staff  of  English 
professors  and  Oriental  specialists ; in  1911,  only 
eight  are  English  and  twenty-three  Indian, 
though  in  the  meantime  the  number  of  pupils  has 
increased  from  350  to  700. 8 It  is  possible  that 
here  real  efficiency  has  been  sacrificed  from  the 
commendable  motives  of  economy  and  a desire 
to  utilize  the  Indians  in  their  own  Universities. 
To  command  a supply  of  the  best  men  from  home 
would  involve  a heavy  financial  strain,  and  yet, 
unless  the  Oriental,  who  can  live  on  a smaller 
salary,  has  spent  some  years  in  Europe,  he  is 
hardly  fitted  to  guide  a University  where  the 
curriculum  largely  consists  of  Western  subjects. 
It  is  interesting  to  find  Mr  Gokhale  emphasizing 
8 Indian  Unrest.  V.  Chirol. 


20 6 Education  of  Women  of  India 

the  need  of  studying  in  a foreign  University  as  a 
preliminary  to  professional  work  in  India.9  It  is 
the  presence  of  a fully  equipped  English  staff 
(who  are  there  for  other  reasons  than  the  mere 
acquisition  of  a “ living  ” wage)  which  forms  the 
attractive  force  of  a Mission  college  to  the 
ambitious  young  Indian.  The  whole  question  is 
an  exceedingly  difficult  one,  and  has  been  fully 
discussed  recently  by  both  Mr  Chailley  and  Sir 
Valentine  Chirol ; it  is  raised  here  only  in  so  far 
as  it  affects  the  women  who  study  in  mixed 
colleges.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  there  is 
no  English  lady  on  the  staff  of  Bethune  College, 
the  only  Government  college  for  women.  The 
feminine  counterpart  of  the  typical  graduate  in- 
dicated above  is  apparently  his  decided  superior, 
for  the  Indian  feminine  virtues  of  modesty  and 
reticence  come  to  her  aid,  and  she  does  not  air 
her  acquired  knowledge.  Still  her  knowledge  is 
only  acquired,  not  yet  assimilated,  and  there  is  a 
lamentable  lack  of  books  in  her  study.  The 
library  at  Bethune  College  is  not  utilized  to  the 
same  extent  as  one  in  a corresponding  English 
institution.  Actual  personal  contact  with  some 
of  the  Indian  students  is  a pathetic  experience,  as 
we  are  forced  to  realise  how  little  real  grit  there  is 
behind  their  text-book  knowledge.  They  have 
gained  no  broad  outlook  on  life  : a tired  brain  has 
struggled  through  so  many  hours  a day  of  lecture 
work  and  book  work,  and  no  energy  is  left  for 
thought ! Climatic  and  constitutional  conditions 
9 Administrative  Problems.  J.  Chailley. 


University  Education  207 

account,  to  a certain  extent,  for  this  result ; lack 
of  hereditary  culture  to  a still  greater  degree  ; but 
it  is  fostered  largely  by  the  conditions  under 
which  the  girls  have  studied,  and  by  the  failure  of 
Anglo-Saxon  women  to  give  them  of  their  best. 
Where  the  women  study  apart  in  the  additional 
classes  of  their  former  High  schools  they  certainly 
receive  individual  attention,  which  results  in 
creditable  passes,  and  this  is  possibly  the  chief 
merit  of  a system  which  has  little  to  be  said  for 
it  from  other  points  of  view.  The  complete  staff 
of  the  Isabella  Thoburn  College,  the  well-utilized 
library,  and  the  reputation  which  its  graduates 
have  won  throughout  India,  are  facts  which  should 
be  noted  in  this  connexion.  The  Diocesan  College 
is  establishing  a similar  tradition. 

There  is  another  side  to  University  life  than 
the  purely  intellectual,  namely,  the  human  and 
personal.  This,  with  all  its  varied  manifestations 
in  the  common  pursuit  of  sport  or  of  music,  in 
the  discussion  of  social  problems  and  of  mental 
difficulties,  or  still  more  in  the  gentle  art  of  doing 
nothing,  lends  the  charm  to  college  days  and  is 
perhaps  the  more  dominant  factor  in  after  life. 
The  influence  of  certain  personalities,  men  or 
women,  who  can  be  trusted,  who  can  look  at 
life’s  problems  from  the  same  point  of  view  as 
their  students,  and  are  able  to  throw  light  on 
their  difficulties  with  the  ripeness  of  experience 
and  to  lead  them,  to  a new  moral  or  religious 
outlook,  is  often  in  the  long  run  more  powerful 
than  that  of  the  actual  literature  studied.  If 


208  Education  of  Women  of  India 

the  University  or  college  fails  as  a school  of 
character  it  has  failed  of  its  raison  d’etre.  Pre- 
cisely on  this  ground  has  the  strongest  indictment 
recently  been  made  against  the  Indian  system. 
“ There  has  been  no  more  deplorable  feature  in 
the  recent  political  agitation  than  the  active  part 
taken  in  it  by  Indian  schoolboys  and  students.”  10 
A University  course  inevitably  shakes  the  founda- 
tions of  their  thought,  and  in  many  cases  has 
resulted  in  a revolt  from  all  former  moral  or 
religious  standards  of  conduct  without  providing 
a new  basis  for  life.  Under  a stricter  regime,  with 
liberal  grants  and  every  possible  encouragement 
of  private  hostels  where  religious  instruction  is 
possible,  an  effort  is  being  made  to  combat  this 
lack  in  the  training  of  character.  The  case  of 
women  students  presents  certain  parallel  features, 
and  also  difficulties  peculiarly  its  own. 

The  larger  proportion  of  women  students  in 
Bombay  in  attendance  at  the  mixed  classes  are 
living  in  their  own  homes  ; a few  from  the  country 
are  in  residence  at  the  Students’  Hostel  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Settlement  for  University  Women,11  where, 
though  the  maj  ority  are  Christian,  students  of  other 
faiths  can  be  received  under  special  arrangements. 
A Jain  lady  was  at  one  time  in  residence  there. 
This  hostel  is  in  close  proximity  to  both  the  Wilson 
and  the  Grant  Medical  Colleges,  and  supplies  a 
real  need,  but  its  residents  so  far  have  not  been 

10  Indian  Unrest.  Chirol. 

11  Cf.  Report  from  Seer.  M.S.U.W.,  74  Denison  House, 
Vauxhall  Bridge  Road,  London. 


Missionary  Settlement  for  University  Women 
Students’  Hostel,  Bombay 


University  Education  209 

very  numerous.  The  women  students  of  Bombay 
as  a whole  have  no  corporate  life  of  their  own  ; 
they  may  attend  some  of  the  joint  debating 
societies  and  kindred  meetings,  but  do  not  as  a 
rule  take  part.  Their  common  rooms  offer  rather 
a geographical  pied-d-tene  than  a means  of  social 
unity.  As  regards  athletics,  badminton  is  pur- 
sued in  a somewhat  spasmodic  way  in  one  college, 
and  by  invitation  to  the  Principal’s  house  in 
another,  but  the  question  of  exercise  in  relation 
to  non-resident  students  is  always  a moot  point 
in  a tropical  climate.  Some  attempt  to  develop 
social  life  is  made  by  the  women  graduates  from 
British  or  Colonial  Universities  who  are  in  charge 
of  the  students’  hostel ; they  visit  the  common 
rooms  of  two  of  the  colleges,  and  occasionally 
organize  debates  or  kindred  functions  at  the 
hostel,  to  which  the  residents  may  invite  other 
students.  The  writer  was  present  at  one  such 
debate  on  the  question  of  educating  men  and 
women  on  similar  lines,  and  the  opinions  expressed 
by  some  of  the  Indian  girls  are  embodied  in  much 
of  the  foregoing.  This  influence  is  also  of  a 
religious  nature,  being  in  connexion  with  the 
Students’  Branch  of  the  Young  Women’s  Christian 
Association,  and  indirectly  counts  for  much.  It 
is,  however,  an  extraneous  one,  and  therefore  many 
of  the  students,  especially  in  the  Government 
colleges,  are  beyond  its  reach.  With  their  actual 
lecturers  they  can  have,  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
little  or  no  personal  contact,  and  the  real  need 
seems  to  be  the  introduction  of  women  on  the 


o 


210  Education  of  Women  of  India 

staff  of  these  colleges,  together  with  the  tutorial 
system,  which  has  proved  itself  so  useful  in  mixed 
non-residential  universities  in  Britain.  The  case 
is  very  strongly  put  by  Mr  Covernton,  who  was 
till  recently  Principal  of  the  Elphinstone  College. 

“It  is  becoming  a problem  how  to  provide 
accommodation  and  adequate  supervision  for 
these  girls.  It  is  ridiculous  to  expect  that  young 
unmarried  graduates,  fresh  from  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  can  mould  the  minds  and  characters 
of  Parsi,  much  less  of  Brahman  girls  ; while  the 
training  of  Eurasian  girls  is  still  more  difficult. 
Moreover,  the  close  association  of  male  and  female 
involved  in  a mixed  education  is  so  totally  opposed 
to  the  traditions  of  the  East,  as  well  as  so  fraught 
with  possibilities  of  evil,  that  in  my  opinion  the 
system  is  rather  a barrier  than  an  encouragement 
to  female  education. — A special  lecturer  and  tutor 
of  female  students  should  be  appointed  to  the 
Elphinstone  College.  She  should  be  a British 
graduate,  and  a member  of  the  Indian  Educa- 
tional Service.  Her  subject  should  preferably  be 
English,  because  it  is  very  easy  to  get  women  well 
qualified  to  teach  that  subject.  She  would  take 
complete  charge  of  the  girls’  studies  in  that 
subject,  and  would  in  addition  supervise  their 
general  reading,  their  games,  and  most  important 
of  all  their  manners  and  conduct.”  12  As  regards 
conduct  the  general  bearing  and  influence  of  these 
girls  in  the  mixed  colleges  has  been  most  credit- 
able in  very  trying  circumstances,  but  there  is 
12  Public  Instruction  Report,  Bombay,  1910. 


University  Education  21 1 

certainly  a need  to  relax  the  evident  tension  of 
the  position,  which  is  little  in  accordance  with 
Oriental  ideas. 

The  condition  of  the  women  students  in  Madras 
who  attend  the  mixed  colleges  is  somewhat  similar. 
There  is  an  excellent  hostel  managed  by  the 
Students’  Branch  of  the  Young  Women’s  Christian 
Association,  where  students  of  all  faiths  can  reside, 
and  former  pupils  of  the  mission  schools  can  still 
remain  in  connexion  with  them.  I understand  that 
the  same  strain  exists  here,  with  the  consequent 
lack  of  energy  for  any  corporate  life.  An  English 
woman  graduate  writes  from  Madras  of  the  great 
need  in  South  India  of  a first-grade  women’s  college. 

In  Calcutta  conditions  are  entirely  different ; 
there  is  a good  hostel  in  connexion  with  the 
Bethune  College,  and  the  Christian  girls  who 
attend  it  are  resident  in  their  former  schools. 
There  are  only  a few  non-residential  students,  but 
as  the  colleges  attended  by  the  Arts  students  are 
very  small,  the  system  assimilates  to  the  tutorial, 
and  there  is  ample  opportunity  for  contact  between 
student  and  lecturer.  In  the  Bethune  College, 
however,  where  the  majority  of  teachers  are  men, 
the  conflict  with  Oriental  ideas  arises  again,  and 
one  is  not  surprised,  apart  from  other  reasons, 
at  the  absence  of  Moslem  or  orthodox  Hindu 
girls.  Here  again  it  seems  unfortunate  that 
there  is  no  corporate  life  or  unity  amongst  the 
women  students  as  a whole,  or  even  in  the  Bethune 
hostel  itself.  In  the  latter  it  would  depend 
entirely  on  Indian  initiative,  and  though  one 


212  Education  of  Women  of  India 

would  expect  it  to  assume  a different  form  from 
the  customary  Saxon  one,  its  entire  absence  can 
only  be  accounted  for  by  unfavourable  conditions. 

The  corporate  life  of  the  Isabella  Thoburn  Col- 
lege has  already  been  emphasized  ; a glance  at 
the  students’  Lai  Bagh  Chronicle  is  enough  to 
convince  the  reader  of  its  reality,  and  of  its 
characteristically  Indian  nature. 

The  case  of  the  Indian  woman  medical  student 
must  be  considered  apart  from  the  life  of  the  Arts 
colleges.  As  a rule  few  women,  except  an  occa- 
sional Parsi,  pass  from  the  one  to  the  other,  and 
there  is  little  contact.  It  is  unnecessary  here 
to  emphasize  the  need  for  every  possible  encour- 
agement for  Indian  women  to  take  up  the 
practice  of  medicine.  The  sorrows  and  sufferings 
of  Indian  women  behind  the  far  da,  who  would 
rather  face  death  than  admit  a male  practitioner, 
are  well  known.  If  to  some  the  statements  made 
by  missionary  writers  seem  exaggerated,  they  have 
only  to  turn  to  the  petition  presented  to  the 
Viceroy  in  1890  by  the  medical  women  practising  in 
India  to  find  evidence  of  the  saddest  facts.  Indian 
medical  students  are  divided  broadly  into  two 
classes,  those  who  study  in  one  of  the  four  Govern- 
ment colleges  affiliated  to  one  or  other  of  the  chief 
Universities,  and  those  who  study  in  the  medical 
schools  for  a very  much  lower  qualification.13 

13  There  are  at  present  in  hospital  work  in  India  47 
women  medicals  of  the  first  grade  (including  English- 
women), 92  assistant  surgeons,  and  67  hospital  assis- 
tants, practitioners,  etc.  Cf.  Report  of  the  Countess  of 
Dufferin’s  Fund,  1911. 


University  Education  213 

Of  the  first  class  again  some  are  genuine 
University  students  going  up  for  the  degrees 
indicated  on  page  204,  while  others  are  content 
merely  with  the  college  diploma  which  qualifies 
for  practice  in  India.  The  medical  schools,  of 
which  there  are  twenty-seven  in  different  parts 
of  India,  are  “ intended  primarily  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  candidates  for  employment  in  Government 
Service  as  hospital  assistants,  but  many  of  their 
pupils  also  go  into  private  practice.”  14  They 
confer  the  title  of  sub- assistant-surgeon.  A few 
women  students  are  to  be  found  in  the  former 
class : in  1907  it  included  thirty-four  Indian  women 
in  all,  and  there  has  not  been  any  marked  increase 
in  recent  years.  An  even  smaller  number  of 
these  take  the  highest  qualification.  All  that  has 
been  said  of  the  strained  life  of  the  women  Arts 
students  applies  even  more  strongly  to  the 
medicals.  It  is  a very  hard  and  difficult  life,  and 
there  is  little  in  the  environment  to  lessen  the 
burden.  The  statistics  of  the  medical  schools  on 
the  other  hand  show  a larger  figure,  138  in  1907, 
with  a considerable  increase  in  recent  years.  It 
is  in  these  schools  that  the  administrators  of  the 
Countess  of  Dufferin’s  Fund,15  which  has  done  so 
much  for  the  medical  treatment  of  women,  place 
most  students,  though  some  are  also  to  be  found 
studying  in  the  Universities.  Three  of  these 

14  Quinquennial  Report,  vol.  i. 

13  Founded  in  1884,  the  total  value  of  hospital 
buildings  connected  with  the  Fund  is  now  50  lakhs. 
90  students  are  in  receipt  of  stipends.  Cf.  Report. 


214  Education  of  Women  of  India 

schools  are  specially  women’s  schools — the  North 
India  Medical  School  for  Christian  Women  at 
Ludhiana,  the  female  branch  of  the  Agra  Medical 
School,  and  one  centre  in  the  Bombay  Presidency 
with  some  half-dozen  pupils.  The  work  of  the 
former,  as  it  illustrates  by  contrast  the  serious 
problem  of  the  mixed  medical  schools  and  colleges, 
is  worthy  of  special  notice.  This  school,  which  is 
under  the  management  of  a private  committee, 
including  members  of  the  Indian  Medical  Service, 
was  originally  founded  in  1894  through  the  agency 
of  seven  missionary  societies  working  in  the 
United  Provinces  and  the  Panjab.  Its  aim  was  to 
secure  “ that  the  young  Christian  women  who 
pass  through  a medical  course,  and  then  go  out 
to  Government  or  Native  State  or  Mission 
Hospital  work,  should  be  so  safeguarded  and 
trained  that  they  shall  be  worthy  representatives 
of  the  religion  they  profess.”  16  The  dangers  of 
the  joint-system  of  instruction  in  all  subjects, 
with  unlimited  association  in  hospitals  and 
museums,  is  apparent  in  every  centre,  with  its  con- 
sequent effect  in  some  cases  of  bringing  “ female 
education  and  emancipation  into  discredit.” 
A letter  of  application  to  the  Ludhiana  School 
throws  some  light  on  prevalent  conditions  : — 

“ I require  a Female  Hospital  Assistant  for  my 
Hospital,  and  am  very  anxious  to  get  one  who  has 
been  trained  under  Medical  Women.  As  your 

1G  A Problem  and  its  Solution,  E.  M.  Brown,  M.A., 
M.D.  (Procurable  from  36  Fairfield  Road,  Bromley, 
Kent.) 


University  Education  215 

School  is  the  only  one  in  India  of  this  sort,  would 
you  be  kind  enough  to  let  me  have  one  ? This 
is  not  a Mission  Hospital  but  one  for  ftarda 
Moslem  women  only,  under  the  Dufferin  Fund, 
and  it  is  essential  that  the  Assistant  be  respect- 
able. (This  I find  rather  difficult  to  get  amongst 
the  class  trained  under  males.)  It  is  perhaps 
against  your  rules  to  supply  Dufferin  Fund 
Hospitals,  but  I hope  you  will  stretch  a point 
and  oblige  me  by  letting  me  have  one,  as  I have 
had  a great  deal  of  trouble  for  the  past  year  with 
Assistants.” 

The  students  of  the  Ludhiana  School  flock 
from  all  parts  of  India  for  the  benefit  of  this 
tuition  under  qualified  medical  women.  There 
are  at  present  some  twenty-seven  Indian  Christian 
students  and  five  Eurasians,  taking  the  four  years’ 
course,  while  some  thirty  others  are  training  as 
“ compounders.”  The  linked  women’s  hospital,17 
with  a record  of  1300  in-patients  and  26,000  new 
out-patients  in  1910,  affords  the  necessary  oppor- 
tunity for  practice.  The  staff  is  drawn  from 
India,  Britain,  and  America,  and  consists  of 
eight  fully  qualified  medical  women.  The  record 
of  the  school  is  one  of  slow  and  steady  progress  in 
efficiency  and  numbers,  and  the  latest  stage  is  the 
proposed  affiliation  to  the  Panjab  University,  the 
negotiations  for  which  are  progressing  favourably. 
Under  these  conditions  the  school  would  be  able 
as  a college  to  send  students  up  for  the  M.B.,  B.S. 

17  Further  hospital  practice  might  be  available  in 
Ludhiana. 


2 1 6 Education  of  Women  of  India 

examination,  and  the  Government  students  would 
be  transferred  to  it  from  Lahore.  The  hostel  life 
of  the  students  is  under  careful  superintendence, 
and  arrangements  are  being  made  for  the  accom- 
modation of  non-Christian  students.  The  con- 
trast between  the  life  here  and  that  of  women 
medical  students  in  Bombay  or  Calcutta  is 
marked ; and  if  it  be  argued  that  the  highest 
professional  ability  cannot  be  obtained  with  so 
limited  a hospital  roll,  there  is  surely  need  for 
modifying  in  some  way  the  conditions  at  these 
centres.  Two  Government  hostels  for  women 
medical  students  exist  in  Calcutta  in  close 
proximity  to  the  two  hospitals;18  the  question, 
however,  concerns  not  only  hostel  life  but  pro- 
fessional training  under  circumstances  which  will 
not  injure  character.  The  complete  separation 
in  the  London  and  Edinburgh  Schools  of  Medicine 
for  Women  affords  a striking  contrast.  A certain 
number  of  Indian  students,  perhaps  one  or  two  a 
term,  come  over  for  a full  or  supplementary 
course  in  British  colleges,  as  this  qualification 
secures  a better  post  on  return. 

To  sum  up,  the  problem  respecting  Indian 
women  students,  in  both  Arts  and  Medicine, 
arises,  apparently,  from  the  need  of  a numerical 
increase,  from  the  lack  of  conditions  so  adapted 
to  Oriental  ideas  that  the  highest  courses  shall  be 
open  without  difficulty  to  women  of  all  ranks,  and 
from  the  lack  of  a curriculum  calculated  to  raise  the 
standard  of  the  intellectual  work  done.  Moreover, 
18  The  Y.W.C.A.  has  student  branches  in  these  hostels. 


Ludhiana  School  of  Medicine — Hospital  Court  Yard  with  Patients 


University  Education  217 

mental  training  must  be  combined  with  such 
opportunities  for  the  development  of  character 
as  shall  ensure  to  Indian  women  the  leaders 
they  require. 

These  needs  interact,  and  affect  one  another ; 
the  numerical  problem  depends,  as  we  have  seen, 
on  certain  conditions  of  Indian  society,  and  also 
on  the  attractive  force  of  the  education  offered 
and  its  appeal  to  Indian  ideas,  as  well  as  on  the 
possibility  of  pursuing  it  under  conditions  which 
shall  not  be  too  utterly  opposed  to  the  tradition 
of  the  country.  With  the  increase  in  the  numbers 
receiving  Secondary  education  there  has  not  been 
a corresponding  increase  in  the  college  courses. 
Mr  Covernton,  in  the  quotation  given  above, 
further  emphasizes  this,  and  points  to  the  real 
need  of  Bombay,  for  which  the  appointment  of  a 
woman  tutor  would  only  be  a temporary  ex- 
pedient. “ If  the  conditions  of  University  educa- 
tion were  in  accord  with  Oriental  ideas  of  women’s 
functions,  the  number  would  go  up  by  leaps  and 
bounds.  I am  confident  that  the  time  is  ripe  for 
the  creation  in  Bombay  of  a women’s  college 
managed  by  a staff  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge 
women  graduates.” 19  The  spontaneous  move- 
ment amongst  Indian  gentlemen  to  organize 
high-class  schools,  where,  if  desired,  par  da  can  be 
kept,  points  to  further  possibilities.  At  present, 
if  a Mohammedan  or  Hindu  girl  of  high  caste,  who 
had  been  educated  in  some  such  school,  or 
privately,  desired  to  take  a University  course, 
19  Bombay  Public  Instruction  Report,  1910. 


218  Education  of  Women  of  India 

there  would  be  no  opportunity  for  her  doing  so. 
A Mohammedan  lady,  whose  daughter  was  being 
educated  in  one  of  the  mission  schools  in  Bombay, 
told  the  writer  she  could  not  think  of  letting  her 
attend  any  college  in  that  city,  though  she  was 
anxious  for  her  to  have  University  education. 
The  only  possible  course  was  an  English  college, 
such  as  Cheltenham.  The  migration  to  England 
of  Indian  women  Arts’  students  has,  so  far,  not 
been  extensive  ; about  a dozen  have  studied  at 
Cambridge,  Oxford,  and  Cheltenham  ; a larger 
number  may  have  gone  to  America.  The  mis- 
sionary societies  which  struck  out  a bold  policy 
for  attracting  men  by  their  great  Christian 
colleges  have  not  made  any  corresponding  move 
to  meet  the  new  situation  in  women’s  education. 
The  one  or  two  women’s  colleges  which  exist  are 
created  so  predominantly  for  Christian  girls  that 
they  attract  only  isolated  pupils  of  other  faiths, 
and  these  not  of  the  most  influential  classes.20  It 
seems  strange  that  in  Great  Britain  the  highest 
education  for  women  should  be  to  a certain  ex- 
tent apart,  with  the  necessary  contact  carefully 
chaperoned,  whereas  in  India,  with  a very  diffe- 
rent tradition  of  womanhood,  one  girl  may  sit 
alone  in  a class  of  over  a hundred  students.  It 
may  be  argued  that  the  best  way  to  overcome  this 
tradition  is  to  ignore  it,  and  that  it  should  not  be 
yielded  to  in  any  way,  least  of  all  in  the  case  of 
Higher  education,  where  the  students  have  pre- 

20  Exceptions  exist  in  the  Diocesan  College,  Calcutta, 
in  the  case  of  non-residents. 


University  Education  219 

sumably  risen  above  it.  Some  English  women 
of  experience  in  India  take  this  bold  attitude.  On 
the  other  hand  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  in 
any  transitional  stage  to  secure  leaders  from  every 
stratum  of  the  population  ; and  if  education  be  the 
only  safe  lever  for  the  uplift  of  women  in  India, 
it  seems  a strategic  mistake  practically  to  close 
its  highest  stages  to  those  whose  families  hold 
by  a certain  type  of  decorum  which  prohibits 
co-education. 

By  adaptation  of  the  curriculum  is  not  meant 
in  any  sense  the  lowering  of  the  intellectual 
standard  nor  the  introduction  of  the  element  of 
domestic  economy  and  so  called  “ feminine  sub- 
jects ” which  are  necessary  at  a lower  stage,  but 
rather  a re-arrangement  of  studies  which  shall 
ensure  more  individual  research  and  a fuller  com- 
prehension of  the  material  studied.  The  revision 
of  the  curriculum  is  at  present  under  consideration 
in  at  least  one  of  the  Universities,  and  is  a matter 
for  experts.  The  action  of  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge in  permitting  women  candidates  to  go  up 
for  Honours  courses  only,  and  the  success  which 
has  attended  women  candidates  for  the  Triposes, 
suggest  the  advantage  of  specialized  studies  in  the 
case  of  women.  Mrs  Satthianadhan’s  opinion  of 
the  effect  of  University  education  on  women  is 
illuminating.  “ It  will  make  women  more 
methodical,  more  orderly  in  their  arrangements, 
more  precise,  and  better  able  to  weigh  causes  and 
results.” 21  A three  years’  specialized  course 
21  Indian  Ladies’  Magazine. 


220  Education  of  Women  of  India 

would  tend  in  many  ways  to  develop  these 
qualities,  and  would  possibly  produce  the  new 
and  more  thorough  type  of  teaching  which  is  so 
greatly  needed  in  the  schools.  The  intellectual 
strain  which  is  so  marked  a feature  at  present 
might  in  this  way  be  lessened  without  detrimental 
effect  upon  real  intellectual  development. 

Towards  the  end  of  last  century,  it  seemed  as  if 
the  goal  of  the  women’s  educational  movement  in 
Great  Britain  might  be  reached  by  the  formation 
of  a Women’s  University  with  federal  colleges. 
Various  reasons  have  led  rather  to  their  taking 
a parallel  place  in  the  existing  Universities, 
though  still  under  somewhat  anomalous  conditions, 
so  far  as  Oxford  and  Cambridge  are  concerned. 
The  American  solution  is  a different  one.  Vassar, 
Bryn  Mawr,  Wellesley,  Mount  Holyoake,  and 
others  have  their  separate  degrees  and  completely 
separated  life.  It  is  possible  that  the  solution  of 
the  Indian  problem  will  rather  follow  these  latter 
lines,  and  there  are  indications  of  this  ideal,  some- 
what nebulously  outlined,  in  the  writings  of 
leading  Indian  women.  Such  a Women’s  Uni- 
versity with  affiliated  colleges  in  the  different 
large  centres  might  establish  a new  era  and  a new 
tradition  in  the  education  of  women.  A com- 
petent staff  of  Indian  women-graduates,  whose 
presence  would  secure  the  students  from  de- 
orientalizing  influences,  and  of  English  women- 
graduates  competent  to  teach  on  specialized 
lines,  would  raise  the  educational  standard.  The 
complete  separation  of  such  colleges  from  the 


University  Education  221 

High  schools  would  render  a corporate  life 
possible,  and  give  to  the  Indian  girl  graduates  the 
opportunity  of  carrying  on  their  studies  in  con- 
genial and  stimulating  surroundings.  “ To  them, 
too,  college  life  might  bring  that  joyous  spring- 
time of  youth,  friendship,  and  unfettered  delight 
of  study  and  leisure  which  have  hitherto  been 
withheld  from  them.”  22  The  Maharani  of  Baroda 
notes  in  her  recent  book  23  the  tendency  of  women’s 
education  in  Europe  to  take  a too  exclusively 
literary  form,  and  the  consequent  overcrowding  of 
certain  professions.  While  there  is  no  danger 
that  the  teaching  profession  will  be  overcrowded 
in  India  for  decades  to  come,  the  warning  is  not 
without  its  value.  Such  a University  might  have 
affiliated  with  it  colleges  of  Indian  Domestic 
Science  and  Economy,  but  the  theory  for  this  has 
yet  to  be  worked  out. 

It  may  seem  to  some  readers,  especially  to  those 
rightly  imbued  with  the  Eastern  principle  of 
festina  lente,  that  the  day  for  women’s  colleges 
in  India  has  not  yet  come,  and  that  all  available 
strength  should  be  concentrated  on  Secondary 
education  ; and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  crux  of 
the  whole  educational  problem  may  be  found  here. 
Miss  Emily  Davies,  who  by  universal  consent 
stands  as  the  chief  pioneer  of  the  movement  in 
Britain,  realized  from  the  first  that  the  reform 

22  Alice  Zimmern  on  the  aims  of  the  Girton  pioneers 
in  Renaissance  of  Girls’  Education. 

23  Position  of  Women  in  Indian  Life,  by  Her  Highness 
the  Maharani  of  Baroda. 


222  Education  of  Women  of  India 

in  girls’  education  must  begin  at  the  top.  The 
same  principle  is  seen  in  the  history  of  Cheltenham 
Ladies  College  (founded  1853),  and  the  early 
efforts  of  Miss  Beale  to  face  the  same  problem  of 
the  need  of  teachers,  which  is  felt  in  every  Indian 
school  to-day.  “ Her  efforts  show  how  hard  it 
was  to  found  a school  before  the  reformation  of 
the  higher  education  had  given  the  necessary 
stimulus  from  above.  It  was  a case  of  making 
bricks  without  straw.”  24  The  proximity  of  cer- 
tain dates  is  suggestive.  In  1869,  the  “ Girt  on 
Pioneers  ” first  met  at  Hitchin  to  read  for  the 
examinations  of  the  University  of  Cambridge. 
In  1872,  the  Girls’  Public  Day  School  Company 
was  founded,  and  in  1879  the  Oxford  Women’s 
Halls  were  opened.  The  two  movements  are  of 
necessity  contemporaneous,  and  cannot  be  viewed 
as  successive  stages  towards  the  same  end. 

The  beginning  exists  in  India  ; much  excellent 
pioneer  work  has  been  done,  and  it  now  remains 
to  raise  the  whole  movement  to  a status  from 
which  its  future  development  on  Indian  and 
womanly  lines  would  be  assured. 

24  Renaissance  of  Girls’  Education.  A.  Zimmern. 


X 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  IN  EDUCATION 

“ Education,  education — education  about  what  ? 
Education  about  matter,  mere  material  things,  thoughts 
and  ideas.  Education,  according  to  the  Vedas,  is  the 
opening  of  the  petals  of  the  mind-lotus  to  the  rays  of 
the  spiritual  sun,  and  that  is  what  we  now  want  first.” 

— Swami  Baba  Pramanand  Bharati. 

THE  analysis  of  the  religious  element  in 
education  is  a deep  and  subtle  problem, 
and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  this  element  is 
the  touchstone  by  which  all  systems  of  education 
are  ultimately  tested.  The  formation  of  in- 
dependent thought  and  judgment,  and  of  an 
upright  character,  spontaneously  moral,  may  lead 
in  adolescent  years  to  the  attainment  of  some 
unifying  philosophy  of  life  which  shall  dominate 
and  satisfy  the  religious  nature.  The  successful 
quest  of  this  during  the  “ silent  period,”  and  the 
re-interpretation  of  it  during  a college  career, 
must  be  the  aim  of  all  education.  How  is  this 
aim  to  be  achieved  ? The  separation  of  religion 
from  education  in  a Christian  country,  where 
morality  is  under  the  corporate  sanction  of 
inherited  religious  tradition,  may  be  a dangerous 
experiment,  but  it  is  made  under  the  supposition 

223 


224  Education  of  Women  of  India 

that  the  influence  of  home  and  Church  will 
supplement  the  teaching  at  school.  In  India,  a 
country  of  conflicting  faiths,  all  in  a period  of 
transition,  and  withal  a country  of  deep  religious 
instinct,  the  case  is  different.  There  is  no  cor- 
porate sanction  : religion  and  moral  principles  are 
not  necessarily  kindred  terms  ; the  influence  of 
school  and  of  home  are  often  diverse,  and  thus  the 
former,  if  it  is  in  any  sense  to  be  the  builder  of 
character,  must  include  religion  as  the  only 
unifying  educational  factor.  Theoretically,  this 
statement  is  justified  and  endorsed,  not  only  by 
missionary  enthusiasts,  but  by  official  opinion 
and  by  Indian  sentiment  in  so  far  as  it  is  articulate ; 
its  practical  endorsement,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  of  Indian 
administration.  A brief  sketch  of  the  attitude 
of  Government  in  the  past,  and  of  the  modern 
desire  for  its  modification  may  serve  to  show  the 
relation  which  this  question  bears  to  the  present 
development  of  women’s  education. 

The  great  educational  Charter  of  1854  estab- 
lished the  Indian  system  on  the  only  basis  which 
seemed  in  accord  with  our  whole  Indian  policy — 
that  of  religious  neutrality  ; but  it  was  not,  as  is 
sometimes  erroneously  supposed,  an  endorsement 
of  a wholly  secular  policy.  The  Government 
could  not  of  itself  undertake  direct  religious 
teaching  in  its  own  schools,  but  the  system  of 
“ grants-in-aid  ” with  which  it  endowed  the 
voluntary  schools  was  “ based  on  an  entire 
abstinence  from  interference  with  the  religious 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  225 

instruction  conveyed  in  the  schools  assisted.” 
“ The  framers  of  this  Despatch  entertained  the 
hope  that  under  its  provisions  Hindu,  Moham- 
medan, and  Christian  managers  would  supply, 
each  class  in  its  own  particular  way,  what  was 
already  known  to  be  a great  defect  of  the  course 
of  instruction  in  Government  institutions.  The 
same  hope  was  one  of  the  chief  reasons  that  led 
the  Education  Commission  to  make  and  the 
Government  of  India  to  adopt  the  recommenda- 
tion that  ‘ the  improvement  and  extension  of 
institutions  under  private  management  be  the 
principal  care  of  the  Department.’  ” 1 At  the 
same  time  many  of  its  members  believed  that 
even  the  more  secular  instruction  given  in  the 
Government  schools  would  remove  ignorance  and 
superstition,  and  ultimately  pave  the  way  to- 
wards the  acceptance  of  Christianity.  Moreover, 
definite  provision  was  made  for  the  inquiring 
mind.  “ The  Bible  is,  we  understand,  placed  in 
the  libraries  of  the  colleges  and  schools,  and  the 
pupils  are  freely  able  to  consult  it.  This  is  as  it 
should  be  ; and,  moreover,  we  have  no  desire  to 
prevent,  or  discourage,  any  explanations  which 
the  pupils  may  of  their  own  free-will  ask  from 
the  masters  on  the  subject  of  the  Christian 
religion,  provided  that  such  information  be  given 
out  of  school  hours.”  The  agitation  of  those 
who  wished  a more  definitely  Christian  attitude 
to  be  adopted  aimed  at  voluntary  teaching  of  the 

1 Unrest  and  Education  in  India.  Wm.  Miller,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  C.I.E. 

P 


226  Education  of  Women  of  India 

Bible,  where  a suitable  teacher  could  be  procured, 
and  a suggestion  of  teaching  the  Indian  religions 
parallel  with  it  is  scarcely  found.  The  argument, 
as  it  might  be  presented  to  an  Indian  expostulating 
in  favour  of  neutrality,  is  thus  put  in  Sir  John 
Lawrence’s  Despatches  : — “ We  offer  you  the 
Bible  in  our  Government  schools  because  we 
believe  it  to  be  for  your  inestimable  good  if  you 
choose  to  listen  to  it.  We  do  not  wish  you  to 
study  it  unless  you  do  so  voluntarily.  But  you 
cannot  expect  us  to  help  in  teaching  your  religion, 
which  we  do  not  believe  to  be  true.  That  you 
can  do  for  yourselves.”  2 “ The  Indian  religions 
ought  not  to  be  taught ; they  have  ample  means 
of  their  own  for  doing  this.”  It  should  be  noted 
that  at  this  time  the  Samajes  had  not  arisen,  nor 
the  Hindu  reform  movement,  and  that  the 
Western  comprehension  of  things  Indian  and 
religious  was  much  more  limited  than  it  is  now. 
The  Despatch  of  1859,  after  reviewing  the  various 
arguments  for  the  modification  of  the  “ secular  ” 
policy,  finally  sums  up — “ They  [Her  Majesty’s 
Government]  are  unable,  therefore,  to  sanction 
any  modification  of  the  rule  of  strict  religious 
neutrality,  as  it  has  hitherto  been  enforced  in  the 
Government  schools,  and  it  accordingly  remains 
that  the  Holy  Scriptures  being  kept  in  the  library, 
and  being  open  to  all  the  pupils  who  may  wish  to 
study  them,  and  the  teachers  being  at  liberty  to 
afford  instruction  and  explanations  regarding 

2 Despatches  on  Christianity  in  India  — Sir  John 
Lawrence  ( Times  Reprint). 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  227 

them  to  all  who  may  voluntarily  seek  it,  the  course 
of  study  in  all  Government  Institutions  be,  as 
heretofore,  confined  to  secular  subjects.”  3 The 
emphasis  on  the  place  of  the  aided  school  and  the 
Government  school  has  varied  in  the  different 
periods  of  Indian  administration  and  in  different 
localities,  but  in  the  main  in  the  education  of  boys 
the  Government  or  municipal  school  has  pre- 
dominated. Its  possible  religious  influence  has 
been  negative  ; and  while  there  is  no  record  of  the 
English  teacher  expounding  the  Bible  to  inquir- 
ing minds  after  school  hours,  as  the  Despatches 
fondly  picture,  there  is  ample  evidence  that  the 
Western  education  introduced  sapped  the  founda- 
tions of  ancient  belief  and  substituted  no  new 
positive  sanction  of  moral  principles.  The  Hindu 
and  Mohammedan  effort  of  the  early  days  on 
Western  lines  was  also,  with  the  exeption  of 
Aligarh  College,  largely  01^  a secular  basis. 
Thus,  the  place  of  definite  religious  teaching  was 
confined  to  the  schools  under  missionary  manage- 
ment, and  though  their  influence,  especially  in 
South  India,  has  been  enormous,  it  can  in  no 
sense  be  considered  conterminous  with  Western 
education  in  India.  A predominantly  secular 
education  has  therefore  produced  its  own  fruits, 
and  a discussion  of  it  when  so  much  literature 
already  exists  on  the  subject  is  superfluous. 

The  modern  reaction  is  manifest  in  popular 
speeches,  in  the  Press,  and  in  Government  reports. 
An  Indian  writer  pleads  that  the  Durbar  boon  of 
3 Despatch  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  1859. 


228  Education  of  Women  of  India 

additional  grants  for  education  is  no  boon,  but  a 
curse,  if  it  perpetuate  only  the  “ nauseatingly 
materialistic,  all  - intellectual,  and  soul-killing 
system,”  and  is  not  in  consonance  with  the 
“ natural  ideals,  national  aspirations,  and  the 
world-old  mental  characteristics  ” 4 of  the  Indian 
people.  It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  quotations 
in  grandiloquent  language,  which,  for  all  their 
quaintness,  have  a strong  element  of  truth. 
Parallel  with  the  plea  for  religious  instruction, 
and  to  a certain  extent  confused  with  it,  is  the 
plea  for  moral  instruction,  either  apart  from  or 
based  on  religion.  The  most  trustworthy 
evidence  as  to  the  extent  of  this  demand  and  its 
somewhat  incoherent  nature  was  given  at  the 
Government  Educational  Conference  held  recently 
in  Allahabad,  when  a whole  day  was  devoted  to 
the  subject  of  Moral  and  Religious  Education. 
The  preceding  questionnaire  inquired  (a)  how  far 
moral  lessons  were  included  in  the  ordinary 
Primary  readers,  (b)  whether  special  moral  text- 
books were  in  use,  ( c ) whether  direct  moral 
instruction  was  given  and  appreciated,  (d)  whether 
the  trend  of  public  opinion  was  really  in  favour 
of  moral  instruction  in  the  schools,  and  finally 
(, e ) whether  any  divergent  views  thereon  were 
based  on  differences  of  creed.  Most  of  the 
provinces  reported  a certain  element  of  moral 
instruction  in  the  shape  of  stories  and  poetry  in 
the  readers,  with  the  comment  that  these  were 

4 • ‘ King  George  and  the  Hindoos,”  XIX  Century, 
January  1912. 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  229 

mainly  used  as  reading  or  grammar  lessons,  or  else 
were  too  didactically  taught  to  have  any  lasting 
effect.  Certain  moral  text-books  are  in  use,  but 
these  are  mainly  of  a religious  nature  and  found 
in  the  newer  Indian  schools.  The  “ Sanatana 
Dharma  ” series,  issued  by  the  Central  Hindu 
College,  Benares,  which  attempts  to  deal  only 
with  basal  principles  of  religion,  is  used  by  the 
Surat  municipality,  in  Mysore,  in  Baroda  and 
elsewhere,  but  is  not  generally  acceptable  to 
orthodox  Hindus.  The  classic  Bhaghavat  Gita — 
an  eclectic  synopsis  reconciling  different  systems 
of  Hindu  philosophy  and  religion — is  also  taught 
as  a class-book  in  the  higher  classes  of  certain 
schools  in  Bengal  which  were  started  as  rivals  to 
mission  schools.  The  Anjuman-i-Islamia,  Lahore, 
also  prepares  books  for  both  Primary  and  Secon- 
dary classes  in  Mohammedan  schools,  and  in  these 
again  moral  instruction  is  imparted  through 
religious  references.  Moral  text-books  pure  and 
simple  are  not  used  except  occasionally  those  of 
the  International  Moral  League  in  some  of  the 
hostels  in  Baroda  and  elsewhere.  As  regards 
lessons  in  direct  moral  teaching,  apart  from 
religion,  there  seem  to  be  exceedingly  few.  A 
few  debating  societies  exist  for  this  purpose.  One 
school  reports  a weekly  lecture  thereon,  but  the 
boys  of  the  school  are  credited  with  stoning  a 
visiting  cricket  team  which  had  defeated  them  ! 
Moral  instruction  combined  with  religion  is  more 
common  than  it  is  thought  in  the  Indian  aided 
schools,  and  various  instances  are  on  record. 


230  Education  of  Women  of  India 

The  old-fashioned  Koranic  schools  and  Sanskrit 
“ tols  ” are  steeped  in  religion.  “ To  describe  the 
system  of  moral  training  in  such  institutions 
would  be  to  write  an  account  of  the  rites  and 
tenets  of  the  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  religions.”  5 
With  two  exceptions  the  reports  show  in  detail  a 
general  state  of  dissatisfaction  with  things  as  they 
are,  and  a desire  for  definite  moral  instruction 
combined  with  a strong  preference  for  a religious 
basis  where  such  could  be  made  possible.  The 
words  “ moral  instruction  ” seem  also  to  have 
become  a sort  of  shibboleth.  “ People  are  also 
rather  vague  as  to  what  comes  under  the  head  of 
religion  or  morality.”  A Brahman  student  is 
instanced  as  having  devoted  much  time  to  religion, 
which  was  found  to  mean  “ breathing  exercises.” 
“ There  are  a few  of  exceptional  intelligence  who 
hold  that  the  teaching  of  morality  must  be  based 
on  religion.  These  would  advocate  the  teaching 
of  a religion,  or  rather  a combination  of  religious 
truths  that  all  men  could  agree  on.”  “ The  public 
mind  in  Bengal  is  not  ripe  for  the  idea  of  moral 
instruction  totally  severed  from  religion.”  At 
the  same  time  it  is  noticed  that  little  advantage 
has  as  yet  been  taken  of  the  opportunity  to  teach 
religion  in  the  Government  schools  in  the  United 
Provinces  and  in  Burma.  The  restrictions  which 
surround  it  in  the  former  and  the  recent  date  of 
the  permission  for  it  in  the  latter  may  possibly 
account  for  this. 

The  bulk  of  the  answers  to  the  questionnaire 
6 Allahabad  Conference  Report,  1911. 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  23 1 

issued  by  the  Conference  may  be  summed  up 
in  respect  of  moral  instruction  as  follows  : it  is 
inefficient,  unless  impressed  by  the  personality 
of  the  teacher,  and  unless  based  on  religion ; 
a merely  moral  system  can  be  accepted  only  in 
circumstances  which  completely  prohibit  the 
religious  element.  Combined  with  the  desire  for 
it  is  a certain  healthy  scepticism  as  to  whether 
moral  instruction  can  be  imparted  in  small  doses, 
and  whether  the  more  effective  influence  is  not  the 
general  discipline  and  tone  of  the  school.  The 
discussions  at  the  Conference,  which  represented 
every  shade  of  official  and  religious  opinion, 
followed  the  same  line.  The  emphatic  testimony 
of  Christian  and  Mohammedan  dwelt  on  the  need 
for  the  religious  sanction,  the  Hindu  testimony 
on  the  same  need,  but  also  on  the  impossibility 
for  Hindus  of  finding  a common  ground  amongst 
themselves.  “No  teaching  which  rests  merely 
upon  the  basic  principles  of  religion  will  be  ac- 
cepted by  Hindus  as  taking  the  place  of  directly 
orthodox  religion.”  6 The  incorporation  of  moral 
teaching  in  the  Government  system  by  means 
of  a general  text-book  seemed  at  best  only  a 
makeshift,  and  did  not  meet  with  universal 
approval. 

The  evidence  of  the  Allahabad  Conference 
reveals  a need  and  a deadlock.  The  country  needs 
morality  taught  under  religious  sanction,  but  how 
can  a Government  pledged  irrevocably  to  religious 
neutrality  provide  this  ? The  granting  of  equal 
6 G.  K.  Gokhale. 


232  Education  of  Women  of  India 

opportunity  in  the  Government  and  municipal 
schools  for  parallel  instruction  in  the  various 
faiths,  as  Sir  Valentine  Chirol  suggests,7  would 
not  meet  the  special  case  of  the  Hindus,  and 
might  possibly  complicate  the  position  of  the 
mission  schools.  The  disintegration  of  a school 
where  rival  influences  were  at  work  would  further 
render  impossible  the  unity  necessary  to  tone  and 
discipline.  The  solution  of  the  problem  seems 
rather  to  lie  in  the  religious  influence  of  a single 
kind,  and  this  is  possible  only  in  the  aided  schools. 
The  development  of  these,  and  the  allocation  of  a 
greater  proportion  of  public  funds  to  them,  especi- 
ally now  that  the  indigenous  Indian  schools  of 
the  newer  type  are  developing  religious  instruc- 
tion, would  be  in  historical  continuity  with  the 
principles  of  1854,  and  would  not  contradict  the 
principles  of  neutrality. 

The  problem  of  female  education  was  not  con- 
sidered separately  at  Allahabad,  and  there  was 
no  reference  throughout  the  discussion  to  girls’ 
schools.  But  though  girls’  education  may  be 
assumed  to  be  some  fifty  years  behind  that  of 
boys,  a great  deal  of  the  report  has  a very 
direct  bearing  on  our  subject  as  indicating  dangers 
to  be  avoided  and  a more  profitable  course  to  be 
pursued.  The  whole  question  is  even  more  vital 
in  their  case,  as  the  removal  of  religious  and  moral 
principles  would  be  fraught  with  consequences 
even  more  serious  to  the  community.  How  far 
is  the  education  of  women  in  India  undermining 
7 Indian  Unrest.  Sir  Valentine  Chirol. 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  233 

their  religious  beliefs  ? How  far  is  this  influence 
being  counteracted  by  moral  teaching,  or  by 
definite  instruction  in  the  principles  of  their  own 
religion  or  of  Christianity  ? 

As  regards  the  vast  proportion  of  girls  who 
attain  a mere  literacy  in  the  Primary  schools,  the 
disintegrating  influence  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
have  begun ; on  the  other  hand,  in  the  Govern- 
ment and  municipal  schools  there  is  a lack  of  con- 
structive influence  guiding  them  towards  that 
which  is  true,  honest,  and  of  good  report.  Ex- 
ceptional women  amongst  the  few  trained  teachers 
may  use  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  moral 
lessons  in  the  readers,  but  only  the  exceptional 
women.  Schools  started  for  girls  by  Indian 
societies  have  arisen  mostly  in  the  later  period  of 
religious  revival,  and  some  of  their  Primary 
schools  are  saturated  with  religion.  In  so  far  as 
an  outsider  can  judge,  this  tends  mainly  to  the 
abnormal  development  of  the  repetitive  faculty. 
In  the  Christian  Primary  schools  the  influence  of 
the  Biblical  instruction  given  naturally  varies 
enormously  according  to  the  method  of  the  Indian 
teacher  and  according  to  the  frequency  of  the 
visits  of  the  English  missionary.  The  writer  has 
watched  a Scripture  lesson  given  by  an  Indian 
teacher  to  a group  of  Bengali  girls  aged  about 
eight  years  ; their  attention,  response,  and  inde- 
pendent questions  compared  favourably  with 
those  of  English  children  of  the  same  age.  It  is 
also  part  of  the  ordinary  experience  of  the  zenana 
visitor  to  find  the  influence  and  memory  of  these 


234  Education  of  Women  of  India 

school  lessons  still  alive  amongst  those  who  have 
long  left  school. 

In  the  Secondary  and  Training  stages,  the 
question  is  totally  different,  and  the  beginning 
of  the  influence  which  has  proved  so  disastrous 
on  the  men’s  side  is  already  felt.  The  Head  of 
one  Government  Normal  school  stated,  “ Our 
education  cannot  fail  to  undermine  their  previous 
ideas,”  and  then  commented  afterwards  on  the 
ineffectiveness  of  the  moral  instruction  she  was 
trying  to  introduce.  In  some  of  the  Government 
schools  where  the  Principal  is  a woman  of 
special  ability  and  tact,  moral  instruction  is 
given,  but  as  a rule  it  is  not  attempted.  In  the 
Government  mixed  colleges  there  is  naturally  no 
influence  of  this  nature.  In  the  Indian  schools 
religious  instruction  is  the  rule,  its  character,  as 
indicated  in  the  reports  to  the  Allahabad  Con- 
ference, differing  enormously  in  different  places. 
In  some  it  is  carefully  thought-out  moral  instruc- 
tion, linked  with  those  ideas  in  the  particular 
religious  faith  which  bear  it  out.  The  Benares 
school  is  a typical  example  of  this  ; the  whole 
school  join  in  morning  puja  to  Sarasvati,  the 
goddess  of  learning,  and  there  are  special  times 
during  the  week  for  instruction  from  the  Sanatana 
Dharma  series.  The  new  Hindu  High  school  in 
Bombay  is  visited  once  a week  for  the  purpose 
by  a Brahman,  and  a small  catechism  of  a more 
orthodox  nature  is  in  use.  The  only  Buddhist 
girls’  Anglo- Vernacular  school  in  Burma  is  marked 
by  a strong  religious  tone.  Instruction  is  given 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  235 

daily  by  an  elderly  priest  to  the  whole  school 
together,  “ in  order  that  they  may  feel  religion 
is  the  most  important  thing  in  daily  life  and 
therefore  must  be  daily.”  A specimen  of  the 
catechism  used  is  typical : — 

“ What  are  the  three  things  to  seek  daily  ? 

Truth,  Knowledge,  Righteousness. 

“ What  will  you  do  when  you  go  home  ? 

We  will  do  salutation  to  our  parents. 

“ And  afterwards  ? 

We  will  do  our  work. 

“ And  in  the  morning  ? 

Our  first  thought  will  be  of  righteousness.” 8 

Religious  and  moral  instruction  is  now  given 
in  most  of  the  Parsi  schools  of  Bombay  under  the 
auspices  of  a special  Zoroastrian  Association. 
This  is,  I understand,  an  innovation  of  the  last 
ten  years.  In  the  schools  under  committees  of 
different  faiths  the  same  difficulty  is  felt  as  in 
the  Government  schools.  It  is  solved  in  one 
case  by  carefully  prepared  moral  intsruction  on 
an  eclectic  basis,  in  another  by  parallel  religious 
observances.  There  is  no  uniformity  in  practice, 
but  the  universal  attempt  is  a clear  proof  that 
the  Indian  desire  for  education  on  a religious 
basis  for  their  daughters  is  genuine. 

The  Christian  factor  so  far  has  been  the  pre- 
dominating one,  for  the  “ bulk  of  female  Secondary 
education  is  provided  by  the  missionaries.”  9 The 

8 The  quotation  is  from  a verbal  translation  given 
during  the  visit  to  the  school. 

9 Quinquennial  Report,  vol.  i.  p.  257. 


236  Education  of  Women  of  India 

religious  atmosphere  is  one  of  unity  and  simplicity. 
It  is  part  of  the  wonderful  tolerance  of  Hinduism 
and  its  desire  to  embrace  other  faiths  in  its  per- 
vading atmosphere,  that  Hindu  girls  can  share 
outwardly  in  Christian  worship  without  apparent 
realization  of  its  incompatability  with  their 
ancestral  religion.  The  daily  instruction  is  given 
in  class  groups,  and  where  the  non-Christian 
element  enters  largely  there  is  usually  a separate 
classification  for  this.  Its  bearing  is  stated  in 
simple  direct  terms  by  a teacher.  “ The  educa- 
tion of  any  child  is  not  complete  which  has  not 
led  it  consciously  to  realize  the  supernatural, 
and  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ.”  In  the 
few  schools  where  a " conscience  clause  ” exists, 
it  is  not  as  a rule  taken  advantage  of.  The  girls 
in  one  convent  who  were  thus  exempted  sat  in 
the  back  row  quietly  and  were  not  asked 
questions  ; they  also  attended  chapel,  but  might 
take  their  own  books  with  them.  Another 
curious  instance  of  the  working  of  the  Hindu  mind 
is  seen  in  the  case  of  an  Indian  gentleman  who 
withdrew  his  daughters  from  the  regular  school 
lesson  by  virtue  of  the  conscience  clause,  but  sent 
them  back  voluntarily  to  a special  Scripture 
class  held  once  a week.  Caste  prejudice  was 
possibly  justified  by  this  arrangement.  The  tone 
and  influence  of  the  Christian  schools  is  greatly 
appreciated ; it  is  this  which  fills  the  Diocesan 
School  in  Calcutta  with  pupils,  although  a thorough 
education  is  available  in  the  Bethune  School.  A 
high-caste  Brahman  lady  in  Bombay  testified  in 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  237 

the  warmest  tones  to  the  wonderful  character 
and  spirit  of  the  Catholic  sisters  who  had  educated 
her,  and  to  whom  she  had  sent  her  daughters.  It 
is  not  only  the  English  education  which  attracts, 
it  is  something  more.  It  would  be  invidious  to 
multiply  instances,  but  the  testimony  is  practically 
universal  to  the  acceptability  of  educational  work 
done  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

The  three  factors  contributing  to  the  education 
of  women  in  India  have  thus  a varying  contribu- 
tion to  make  to  the  most  fundamental  element  in 
education,  and  it  is  this  diversity  which  supplies 
the  keynote  to  the  whole  problem,  and  indicates 
the  line  for  Western  action  in  the  future.  The 
share  of  the  Government,  as  indicated  by  the 
present  policy  in  Eastern  Bengal,  Madras,10  the 
United  Provinces,  and  elsewhere  will  of  necessity 
become  an  increasing  one  in  the  direct  establish- 
ment of  schools,  if  there  is  not  a sufficient 
development  of  aided  schools  to  meet  the  rising 
tide.  Its  contribution  to  religion  will  be  a 
negative  one.  The  spontaneous  Indian  schools 
which  attempt  to  supply  the  need  are  at  their 
'best — and  they  are  not  always  at  their  best — 
only  an  imperfect  solution.  It  would  be  but  a 
poor  form  of  Christianity  which  failed  to  recognize 
the  diverse  manners  in  which  God  has  revealed 
Himself  to  the  world,  and  the  truth  of  permanent 
value  in  the  great  ethnic  faiths  of  the  world 
which  finds  its  final  interpretation  in  That  which 

10  Unrest  and  Education  in  India.  Wm.  Miller,  D.D., 
LL.D  , C.I.E. 


238  Education  of  Women  of  India 

is  Perfect.  There  is  nothing  more  striking  in  the 
modern  reform  movements  of  India  than  the 
reflection  in  them  of  Christian  thought  and 
idealism,  and  this  is  specially  seen  in  the  instruc- 
tion given  in  the  girls’  schools.  Christian  hymns 
are  used  with  certain  specific  verses  left  out,  the 
Lord's  Prayer  is  printed  in  a Parsi  manual  of 
devotion,  verses  from  Watts  and  Charles  Kingsley 
are  in  the  Benares  series,  and  the  hope  of  Christ 
as  the  Lode  Star  of  Indian  thought  can  be  read 
in  many  a school  manual.  Together  with  all  this 
is  the  perpetual  allegorizing  of  such  facts  in  Indian 
literature  as  will  not  bear  the  pure  ethical  light. 
Principal  Paranjpe  of  the  Fergusson  College  at 
Poona,  in  arguing  at  the  Bombay  Educational 
Conference  for  a secular  basis  for  moral  teaching, 
held  that  to  make  morality  depend  upon  religion 
is  dangerous  if  the  religious  sanction  comes  to  be 
no  longer  regarded  as  binding.  His  speech  is  so 
illuminating  as  to  be  worth  while  quoting  in  full : 
— “ In  times  like  ours  where  landmarks  that  were 
but  yesterday  regarded  as  perennial  are  being 
removed  to-day  and  are  likely  to  be  forgotten 
to-morrow,  it  is  best  not  to  cling  to  too  many 
rocks.  The  one  solid  rock  on  which  we  can  rest 
is  our  own  reason.  If  eating  pork  is  a heinous 
sin  with  one  set  of  people,  beef  with  another,  and 
any  meat  at  all  with  a third,  how  can  the  alleged 
basis  of  morality  be  regarded  as  absolute  ! 
Especiallv  when,  as  in  India,  there  are  various 
religions,  each  religion  divided  into  innumerable 
sects,  and  each  sect  divided  into  many  separate 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  239 

sections ; when  the  feeling  aroused  by  any 
religious  question  is  of  a pitch  which  can  hardly 
be  conceived  in  Western  countries  ; when  the 
respectability  of  a man  is  in  inverse  ratio  to  the 
number  of  people  he  is  able  to  associate  with 
without  coming  into  conflict  with  the  prevailing 
religious  ideas — it  will  be  seen  that  the  less  we 
have  to  do  with  religion  in  moulding  the  character 
of  young  children  the  better  for  our  national 
being.  Let  boys  be  taught  to  see  that  there  are 
some  principles  which  they  can  all  believe  irrespec- 
tive of  the  fact  that  they  belong  to  one  religion 
or  several.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that  our  various 
races  can  be  brought  closer  together.”  11  To  bring 
morality  into  relation  with  a religion  which  is 
ethical  to  the  core,  and  which  has  attained  with 
modern  science  and  historical  criticism  only  a fuller 
and  deeper  content,  is  to  place  it  on  a new  foot- 
ing and  to  endow  it  with  spiritual  power.  While 
full  sympathy  must  be  extended  to  the  Indian 
effort,  the  emphasis  must  fall  on  the  Christian 
schools.  They  alone  can  supply  in  full  the 
religious  element  so  needed  in  Indian  education. 
The  present  situation  offers  to  them  in  increasing 
measure  an  opportunity  for  a voluntary  contri- 
bution of  the  needed  spiritual  force  and  power  to 
the  educational  development  of  India.  Their 
contribution,  as  already  indicated,  has  been 
great,  but  modern  conditions  demand  something 
more.  Old  schools  must  be  remodelled,  new 
schools  started  ; independent  work  must  be  done 
11  Allahabad,  Conference  Report,  1911. 


240  Education  of  Women  of  India 

in  adapting  curricula  to  Indian  ideas  and  the 
special  needs  of  girls ; the  whole  educational 
machinery  must  be  raised  to  the  level  of  the 
standard  required  for  men  if  the  opportunity  for 
imparting  this  spiritual  power  is  to  be  retained. 

No  social  or  religious  problem  can  bear  isolation, 
and  if  this  book  has  treated  the  question  of  the 
education  of  women  in  detail  and  in  its  technical 
bearings,  the  relation  of  that  question  to  the 
Christianizing  of  Indian  life  and  thought  is  the 
main  interest  in  its  composition.  The  problem 
is  a question  of  character,  but  of  character 
built  upon  personal  contact  with  the  Christ-life 
in  God — a question  of  environment  and  curricula, 
but  also  of  showing  that  Christianity  is  of  the 
East,  and  Eastern  in  its  spiritual  appeal ; a 
question  of  womanhood,  but  also  of  that  more 
perfect  human  fellowship  where  Christ  is  all  and 
in  all.  “ Jesus  Christ,  by  the  silent  action  of  a 
lifetime,  laid  the  first  emphasis  on  the  identity  of 
woman’s  humanity  rather  than  on  the  difference 
of  her  sex,  thus  both  dignifying  her  and  man  in 
his  attitude  to  her.”  12  The  solution  of  India's 
social  problem  lies  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  Christian 
ideal,  and  the  progress  towards  it  must  be  a united 
one,  in  which  both  sexes  share  alike.  The  nega- 
tive influence  of  the  home  is  often  found  to  be 
the  strongest  in  the  student  life  of  the  great 
Christian  colleges,  and  many  an  earnest  man  has 
fallen  back  from  what  he  seemed  to  have  gained 
because  of  a silent,  unseen  woman.  The  work  of 

12  International  Review  of  Missions,  January  1912. 
Article  by  T.  Gairdner. 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  241 

Christian  education  in  leavening  thought  and 
producing  the  atmosphere  in  which  there  is  hope 
of  the  ultimate  acceptance  of  Christianity  is 
regarded  by  many  as  the  most  potent  influence 
for  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  India.  The  great 
majority  of  converts  in  later  life,  who  belonged  to 
the  high  castes,  have  been  drawn  from  the  ranks 
of  those  who  have  been  educated  in  Christian 
schools,  and  in  spite  of  intense  opposition  there 
are  actually  men  to-day  who  seek  for  baptism 
during  their  college  career.13  There  is  the  further, 
and  perhaps  in  the  sure  Providence  of  God  the 
greater,  result  in  the  permeation  of  Hindu  society 
by  Christian  thought  and  sentiment,  which  may 
yet  pave  the  way  for  a movement  of  the  higher 
castes  to  Christ.  At  the  recent  anniversary 
services  of  the  Prarthana  Samaj  in  Bombay, 
the  sermon  preached  by  a Justice  of  the  High 
Court,  on  the  present  day  as  “ The  Age  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Age  of  Education,”  throbbed 
throughout  with  the  reverence  of  one  who  had 
studied  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  The  long  open  hafl 
was  packed  from  end  to  end  with  young  men  who 
had  been  touched  by  the  new  ideas  ; in  one  corner 
sat  some  twelve  Indian  women  whose  sympathies 
were  with  them.  The  disparity  of  the  two  sexes 
in  the  audience  indicted  how  the  leavening 
influence  of  Christian  education  will  be  deprived 
of  half  its  power  unless  it  touches  the  family  as 
the  unit  of  civilization.  The  “ direct  result  ” 

13  The  Aim  of  Educational  Missions.  East  and  West, 
January  1912.  W.  E.  S.  Holland. 

Q 


242  Education  of  Women  of  India 

longed  for  by  those  who  teach  in  Christian  schools 
is  not  lacking.  It  is  unnecessary  in  these  days 
to  contradict  once  more  the  impression  that  the 
baptism  of  children  and  girls  of  immature  age  is 
attempted.  There  are  some  cases  of  the  baptism 
of  mother  and  child  together,  where  careful 
zenana  visiting  has  followed  up  the  school  pupil ; 
others — and  these  are  the  majority — are  secret 
disciples  whose  whole  environment  is  massed  up 
against  an  open  confession.  One  Moslem  girl  in 
the  higher  classes  of  a Christian  school  is  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  Christianity ; every 
vacation  her  parents  inquire  whether  she  is  a 
Christian  yet,  and  she  knows  that  if  she  replies 
in  the  affirmative  all  the  advantages  which  her 
younger  sisters  are  enjoying  in  another  Christian 
school  will  cease.  The  case  is  not  an  extreme  one. 
There  is  a different  story  of  a girl  in  Burma  who  was 
found  teaching  the  children  of  her  jungle  village 
daily,  and  gathering  them  on  Sundays  for  Bible 
stories  and  hymns,  “ until,”  as  she  put  it,  “ some 
one  comes  who  can  do  it  better  than  I.”  Her 
former  school  knew  nothing  of  it,  and  but  for  the 
chance  visit  of  a Commissioner’s  wife  the  tale  would 
never  have  been  told.  Surely  this  is  direct  result. 

Christian  educational  work  has  also  its  place 
in  the  problem  of  the  Indian  Church.  Ultimately 
the  interpretation  of  Christ  to  India  must  be 
through  the  Indian,  and  the  building  up  of  a 
strong  Indian  Christian  community  is  strategically 
necessary.  The  power  of  the  Indian  Christian 
home  is  in  proportion  to  the  power  of  the  woman. 
Yet  only  43%  of  the  Christian  community  are 


The  Religious  Element  in  Education  243 

being  educated.  The  dangers  of  mass  movements 
and  of  illiterate,  uninstructed  Christianity  on  one 
side,  of  europeanizing  the  convert  and  educating 
him  beyond  his  capacity  on  the  other,  show  at 
the  same  time  the  necessity  and  the  difficulty  of 
action.  The  less  romantic  educational  work  of 
industrial  orphanages  has  its  place  in  the  building 
up  of  a strong,  true  community.  The  training  of 
Christian  girls  as  teachers,  through  whom  the 
leavening  process  will  again  work  on  the  non- 
Christian  village  life,  is  perhaps  the  most  definite 
and  most  direct  form  of  influence. 

There  is  no  more  subtle  problem  than  the  lack 
of  any  characteristically  Indian  note  in  the 
Indian  Christianity  which  is  now  assuming  some 
numerical  importance.  “ There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  lack  of  vitality,  the  half  dead  and  half  alive 
spirituality  which  is  the  present  characteristic  of 
the  Indian  Church,  is  due  to  enforced  conformity  to 
Western  standards  of  what  is  Christian  and  what  is 
not  Christian.” 14  It  may  be  that  this  problem  too 
has  its  relation  to  the  education  on  Christian  and 
Oriental  lines  of  the  women,  who  have  been  from 
all  time  the  custodians  of  religion,  the  upholders 
of  traditional  custom,  and  conservative  rite.15 

From  whatever  point  the  larger  question  of  the 
whole  country  is  viewed,  it  seems  to  attain  per- 
spective and  reality  in  relation  to  the  education 
of  its  womanhood,  and  it  is  only  thus  as  part  of 
one  great  Christian  movement  that  the  feminist 
problem  receives  its  right  emphasis  and  value. 

14  Student  Movement,  ign,  Article  by  S.  K.  Rudra. 

15  Cp.  on  this  The  Renaissance  in  India,  C.  F.  Andrews. 


XI 


CONCLUSION 

“ Till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a perfect  man, 
unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.” 

Ephesians  iv.  13. 

THE  spiritual  heritage  of  the  twentieth 
century  is  marked  by  extreme  diversity 
and  yet  by  a deep  inward  reality.  The 
march  of  science  and  commerce,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  international  relationships  have  given  a 
new  content  and  width  to  the  world’s  thought. 
Isolated  life  is  powerless,  and  a larger  synthesis 
links  the  human  race  together.  All  such  relation- 
ship must  inevitably  have  spiritual  content.  The 
social  upheaval,  the  claim  of  the  individual  for  re- 
cognition, have  a determining  influence  on  the  in- 
terpretation of  our  faith.  Pragmatism  in  modern 
philosophy  tests  religion  by  its  results.  The  reli- 
gious evolution  necessitated  by  the  play  of  inter- 
national forces  is  all  the  more  critical  in  that  it  is 
to  a certain  extent  unconscious.  There  is  a deep 
Christianity  apart  from  the  Church  as  it  is,  which 
has  yet  to  make  the  Church  its  own.  The  demand 
is  now  for  reality — an  embodiment  of  religious  prin- 
ciples in  modem  social  conditions  ; for  charity — a 
sympathy  with  the  ethnic  faiths  which  is  the  surer 


244 


Conclusion 


245 


for  belief  in  the  finality  of  the  Christian  revela- 
tion ; for  unity,  since  the  modern  mind  cannot 
accept  a Christianity  which  does  not  transcend 
and  interpret  all  political,  social,  and  intellectual 
life.  “It  is  not  our  duty  to-day  to  fight  for  a 
new  religion  ; we  have  but  to  awaken  into  fresh- 
ness of  life  the  fathomless  depths  of  Christianity. 
In  so  far  as  we  succeed  in  doing  this,  we  can 
completely  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  new 
situation  ; we  can  seek  to  realize  a Christianity 
that  shall  be  at  once  more  universal  and  more 
active  and  intent  on  disengaging  itself  from  its 
anthropomorphisms  ; at  the  same  time  we  shall 
view  as  our  very  own  the  wealth  of  religious 
profundity  and  inward  experience  which  the  older 
Christianity  has  gathered  through  its  centuries  of 
service,  and  shall  seek  to  realize  them  in  our  own 
life.”  1 

The  growth  of  the  desire  to  make  Christianity 
universal  is  perhaps  the  most  wonderful  phase  in 
the  advance  of  thought ; while  in  one  sense  it  is 
very  old  and  a return  to  the  primitive  times  of 
the  faith,  its  modem  phase  thrills  with  fresh 
content  by  the  ever-present  working  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  The  fresh  light  which  criticism  has  shed 
on  the  historical  Jesus  has  thrown  once  more  into 
relief  His  wonderful  doctrine  of  the  brotherhood 
of  men  in  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  The  desire 
is  not  so  much  to  bring  salvation  to  those  whom  a 
rigid  theology  long  condemned  as  “ heathen,” 
as  to  give  freely  of  the  fulness  received  in  clear 

1 Christianity  and  the  New  Idealism,  Rudolf  Eucken. 


246  Education  of  Women  of  India 

consciousness  of  the  solidarity  of  the  human  race. 
The  world’s  best  thought  must  be  in  terms  of 
Christian  philosophy  ; the  Kingdom  is  conceived 
as  present  now  in  power  ; Christ  is  seen  as  the 
Fulfiller  of  all  that  is  true  and  eternal  in  the 
ancient  Faiths,  and  essentially  the  Saviour  of  the 
corporate  life. 

The  appeal  of  this  book  is  thus  for  the  Christian- 
izing of  every  factor  in  the  education  of  women 
in  India.  None  of  the  three  contributing  forces 
need  be  alien  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ ; their  unity, 
their  mutual  relationship,  and  the  necessity  of 
their  presence  in  a transitional  period  must  be 
felt  and  realized.  Can  all  this  educational 
advance  be  made,  if  not  directly  in  the  Name  of 
Christ,  at  least  in  the  power  of  His  Spirit  ? The 
Government  influence  must  determine  the  tone 
and  character  of  the  whole  frame-work.  Can  the 
Educational  Service  be  supplied  in  all  its  branches 
with  women  who,  while  absolutely  loyal  to  the 
great  principle  of  neutrality,  yet  seek  through  it 
the  spiritual  in  the  material,  and  whose  whole 
work  in  Empire-building  is  consciously  related 
to  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  ? India  has  known 
men  of  this  type  in  the  Government  Service,  and 
has  esteemed  their  strict  neutrality  the  more 
because  of  the  Christian  conviction  which  lay 
behind  it.  The  influence  of  Christian  ethics  in 
the  Government  schools  behind  such  moral 
instruction  as  is  possible  is  enormous,  and  it 
naturally  enters  into  the  teaching  of  secular 
subjects.  The  direct  influence  permitted  out  of 


Conclusion 


247 


school  hours  is  a matter  of  great  difficulty  and 
calls  for  the  utmost  discretion.  If  the  Govern- 
ment policy  were  ultimately  modified  so  as  to 
permit  of  parallel  religious  instruction,  the  direct 
opportunity  would  be  present,  but  in  the  mean- 
time indirect  religious  influence  has  a very  definite 
place. 

The  spontaneous  Indian  element  will  have  an 
important  contribution  to  make  in  the  determin- 
ing of  the  curricula.  Will  the  Indian  commi- 
mittees,  who  need  the  help  of  English  women, 
be  able  to  secure  those  of  the  highest  talent  and 
educational  qualifications,  who  for  the  sake  of 
Christ  will  give  them  of  their  best  and  remain, 
if  silent,  yet  strong  in  the  Faith  ? This  is  hard 
and  perplexing  work,  and  calls  for  strong  per- 
sonalities, but  it  is  fraught  with  endless  possi- 
bility. India  will  never  be  won  if  she  does  not 
behold  Christianity  in  her  midst  lived  in  the  lives 
of  those  who  pursue  their  ordinary  vocation  in 
the  Spirit  of  the  Master. 

These  suggestions  are  made  with  hesitation  lest 
their  attraction  should  weigh  with  those  who  could 
take  the  more  definite  line  of  associating  them- 
selves with  the  educational  work  in  India  which  is 
done  directly  in  the  name  of  Christ.  The  develop- 
ment of  this  work  on  sound  lines  by  women  of 
experience  and  of  the  highest  educational  quali- 
fications is,  as  has  been  indicated  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  the  keynote  to  the  whole  problem.  In 
no  work  is  there  such  a magnificent  sphere  of 
influence  as  in  this.  A spiritual  heritage  involves 


248  Education  of  Women  of  India 

responsibility  and  opportunity.  Nearly  a cen- 
tury of  patient  work  for  the  women  of  India  is 
written  in  the  annals  of  the  Church  : the  task  of 
the  present  day  is  to  enter  into  this  work  with  the 
same  earnest  patience.  The  need  for  action  is 
urgent.  It  is  not  only  that  there  are  endless 
opportunities  for  new  work  which  are  not  being 
utilized,  but  that  schools  with  an  excellent  tradi- 
tion are  not  being  raised  to  the  modern  standard 
of  efficiency.  They  are  inevitably  handicapped 
by  shortage  in  the  English  staff.  A young  girl 
of  little  experience  may  find  herself  almost  at 
once  at  the  head  of  some  most  complex  institution, 
long  before  she  would  ever  have  had  such  a 
position  of  responsiblity  at  home.  The  perpetual 
strain  on  those  who  work  on  at  such  tension 
prevents  the  due  result.  In  other  cases  the 
needed  and  desired  expansion  is  checked  by  lack 
of  the  trained  educator  who  could  supervise 
village  schools  and  their  teachers,  or  who  could 
put  her  energy  and  talent  into  building  up  a first- 
class  school  for  non-Christian  girls  in  the  centre 
of  some  district  where  the  new  spirit  is  manifest. 
Facts  indicate  the  appointment  in  the  future  of 
women  to  act  as  Tutors  or  Directresses  of  Studies 
to  the  girl  students  in  the  mixed  mission  colleges. 
There  is  the  possibility  also  of  women’s  Christian 
colleges.  On  every  side  the  need  is  apparent, 
and  the  power  to  meet  it  lies  with  the  women  of 
the  English-speaking  countries.  It  is  work  which 
makes  demands  on  intellect,  on  character,  and  on 
the  religious  nature.  The  hesitation  to  respond 


Conclusion 


249 


to  it  springs  in  part  from  the  sense  of  reverence 
for  things  sacred.  There  are  women  in  educa- 
tional circles  at  home  who  hold  the  truth  of 
Christianity  and  its  sufficiency  to  meet  the  need 
of  the  whole  world,  but  have  not  offered  to  share 
in  educational  missions  lest  their  contribution  be 
not  of  the  required  type.  There  is  need  in  India 
for  every  type  of  worker.  Christianity  gains 
there,  as  at  home,  by  interpretation  through 
diverse  personalities,  and  there  is  room  for  all  who 
can  reflect,  it  may  be  silently,  its  spirit  and  power 
in  the  daily  routine  of  work.  A sense  of  vocation 
is  a sense  of  personal  relationship  to  Him  Who 
calls,  and  therein  lies  the  motive  power  for  all 
educational  work  done  in  the  name  of  Christ. 


Appendix  A 

Curricula 

Matriculation  subjects  of  the  five  Universities  of 
Calcutta,  Madras,  Bombay,  Panjab,  and  Allahabad: — 

English  and  Mathematics,  compulsory  in  all. 

History  and  Geography,  compulsory  in  all  except 
Calcutta. 

Science,  compulsory  in  Madras  and  Bombay ; 
elective  in  the  other  three. 

Classical  language,  compulsory  in  Calcutta,  Bom- 
bay, Panjab  ; alternative  with  vernacular  in 
Madras  ; elective  in  Allahabad. 

Vernacular  compulsory  in  Calcutta  and  Bombay ; 
alternative  with  classical  in  Madras ; elective 
in  Allahabad  and  Panjab. 

Drawing,  elective  in  Allahabad  and  Panjab. 

Text-Books 

State  Schools. — No  choice. 

Aided  Schools. — Choice  among  authorized  alter- 
natives. 

Unaided  but  recognized  Schools. — Abstention  from 
books  disapproved  by  Government. 

Text-book  Committees.— In  every  case  appointed 
by  Government,  and  include  official  and  non- 
250 


Appendices  251 

official  members  ; in  some  provinces  places  are 
reserved  for  members  of  the  staff  of  mission 
schools. 

From  Analysis  of  Educational  Codes  in  British 
India. 

Appendix  B 

Courses  for  the  Training  of  Teachers 

Training  colleges  and  classes: — 

(1)  Graduate  Course — one  year.  Both  in 

(2)  Undergraduate  Course — two  years.  / English. 

(3)  Vernacular  Course — after  Middle  examination 

— two  years. 

(4)  Lower  Vernacular  Course — after  Upper  Primary 

examination  (women  only) — two  years. 

Courses  (1)  and  (2)  are  pursued  in  the  Universities, 
in  special  English  Training  schools  for  men,  or  in  the 
Training  Department  of  some  European  schools. 

Courses  (3)  and  (4)  in  Government  or  mission 
Vernacular  Training  schools  for  women.  These 
consist  frequently  of  very  small  groups  in  an  ordinary 
Middle  or  High  school.  A few  students  are  also 
found  in  mixed  schools. 


252  Education  of  Women  of  India 
Appendix  C 

Diagram  showing  INCREASE  OF  FEMALE  EDUCATION  in  India. 


In  Burma  9.6%  of  girls  of  school  age  are  receiving  education. 
,,  Bombay  7.2°/0 
„ Madras  6.8°/0 
,,  Bengal  4.3% 

,,  Panjab  3.1% 

,,  United  Provinces  1.3%  ,,  ,,  .. 


Bibliography 

Baroda,  Maharani  of.  Position  of  Women  in  Indian 
Life. 

Bradley  Birt,  F.  B.  Romance  of  an  Eastern  Capital. 
Carpenter,  J.  E.  Life  of  Mary  Carpenter. 

Carpenter,  M.  Six  Months  in  India. 

Chailley,  J.  Administrative  Problems  in  British 
India. 

Chirol,  Sir  Valentine.  Indian  Unrest. 

Davies,  E.  Questions  relating  to  Women. 

Dutt,  R.  C.  Ancient  India. 

Dutt,  R.  C.  Translation  of  Ramayana  and  Mahabharata. 
Festine,  G.  From  the  Land  of  the  Princes. 

Fraser,  Sir  Andrew.  Among  Rajahs  and  Ryots. 
James,  H.  R.  Education  and  Statesmanship  in  India, 
1797-1910. 

Low,  Sidney.  A Vision  of  India. 

Lyall,  Sir  Alfred.  Asiatic  Studies. 

Mitra,  S.  C.  Indian  Problems. 

Nevinson,  H.  W.  The  New  Spirit  in  India. 

Purser,  W.  C.  B.  Christian  Missions  in  Burma. 
Poole,  F.  F.  Woman’s  Influence  in  the  East. 

Rice,  B.  L.  Mysore. 

Rulers  of  India  Series.  Edited  by  Sir  William 
Hunter. 

Richter,  J.  History  of  Missions  in  India. 

Scott,  Sir  Geo.  Burma. 

Smith,  Geo.  Life  of  Alexander  Duff. 

Sorabji,  C.  Between  the  Twilights. 

Steele,  F.  A.  India  through  the  Ages. 

Strachey,  Sir  John.  India. 

Zimmern,  Alice.  Renaissance  of  Girls’  Education. 
Imperial  Gazetteer  of  India. 

Quinquennial  Report  on  Progress  of  Education  in  India, 
1907. 

Public  Instruction  Reports,  1860-1910.  Selections 
Statistical  Abstract  relating  to  British  India,  1911. 
Reports  of  Various  Missionary  Societies. 

253 


Index 


Ahmedabad,  181 
Ahmednagar,  180 
Ajmer-Merwara,  156 
Alexandra  School,  173 
All-Indian  Moslem  League,  24 
Allahabad  Conference,  231 
Alwar,  154 

American  Baptist  Mission,  67, 
151 

American  Board,  178 
Amherst,  Lady,  36,  103 
Anglo-Indian  (Eurasian),  63, 
69,  76,  90,  180 
Anjuman-i-Islamia,  229 
Arya  Samaj,  15,  133,  157 

Baptists,  67,  85,  15 1 
Baroda : Maharani  of,  15,  103, 
221  ; 

schools  in,  148,  229 

Benares,  133,  229 
Bengali,  101 
Besant,  Mrs,  133 
Bethune  School  and  College, 
36,  45,  no,  194,  206 
Bharat  Stri  Mahamandal,  17 
Bhopal,  27 
Bhore,  Miss,  181 
Bombay,  160  ff. 

Bose,  Miss,  ill,  201 
Brahma  Samaj,  14,  89,  102,  ill, 
123,  198 

Buddhist,  60,  66,  196,  234 

Calcutta,  School  Society, 
34.  103 

Capitation  grant,  130 
Carpenter,  Miss,  38,  42. 

Chanda  Ramji,  167 
Chichgar,  173 


Chiefs’  College,  145 
Christian  students,  197  ff. 
Church  Missionary  Society,  104, 
139.  142,  194 
Clewer  Sisters,  116 
Compulsory  Education,  24, 
149 

Conversion,  242 
Cook,  Miss,  35,  103 
Covernton,  210,  217 
Curriculum,  53,  71,  95,  125,  144, 
189,  203 
Cursetji,  166 

Dacca,  78 

Danish  missionaries,  35 
Davies,  Emily,  221 
Dehra  Dun,  133 
Diocesan  High  School,  Cal- 
cutta, 1 1 6,  194 
Duff,  Dr  Alex.,  35 
Dufferin  Fund,  212 

Eden  Girls’  High  School,  89 
Education  : Despatch,  1854  : 34, 
224  ; 

Commission,  1884:  34, 

46  ; 

Despatch,  1904  : 46 

Elphinstone,  Lord,  162 ; 

College,  194 

Eurasian,  cp.  Anglo-Indian 

Frere,  Lady,  172 

Garga,  29 

Gokhale,  G.  K. , 20,  24 
Gondal,  Rani  of,  15 
Government,  system  of  education, 
22  ff. 


254 


Index 


255 


Goverment : attitude  to  female 
education,  37,  46,  64,  109,  130, 
156,  181,  193,  216; 

Female  Education  Com- 
mittee, 80 

Grant  Medical  College,  208 
Gujerati  Stri  Mandal,  17,  166, 
170 

Hastings,  Lady,  36,  106 
Hindu,  15,  17,  30,  35,  39,  87, 
1 13,  I43»  166  ff.,  198,  230 
Hindu  Female  Training  School, 

123 

Hostels,  85,  208,  21 1,  216 
Hyderabad,  151 

Ideals  of  Womanhood,  26, 
29,  1 13,  144,  216,  240 
Indian  Church,  242 
Indian  National  Congress,  24 
Indian  schools,  47,  66,  145,  167 
Inspectress,  41,  46,  95,  131,  151, 
156,  182,  246 

International  Moral  League,  229 
Isabella  Thoburn  School,  45, 
137,  194 

Jaipur,  154 

Ladies’  Society  for  Female 
Native  Education,  106 
Lawrence,  Lord,  38 
Learned  ladies,  31  ff. 

Lilavati  Singh,  137,  201 
Literacy,  25,  63,  150,  165 
London  Missionary  Society,  152 
Ludhiana,  215 

Madras,  27,36,  54, 194,  211,237 
Mahakali  Pathshalas,  47,  84, 

1 1 3 ff- 

Maharani’s  College,  194 
Mahommedan,  14,  17,  69,  82, 
89,  ill,  163,  171,  202,  229 
Maitreyi,  30 
Manu,  Code  of,  30 
Marathi,  179 
Marshman,  Mrs,  103 


Medical  students,  212 
Methodist  Episcopal,  67 
Minto,  Lord,  22 
Mission  schools,  44,  50,  67,  93, 
103,  1 15,  137,  141,  151,  155, 
176,  etc.,  233 

Missionary  Settlement  for  Uni- 
versity Women,  208 
Moral  instruction,  223  ff. 
Municipal  schools,  36,  87,  182 
Mysore,  151,  194 

Nasirabad,  156 

National  Indian  Association,  18 

Native  States,  146,  195 

Nauraji,  165 

Neo-Hinduism,  133 

Nivedita,  Sister,  21 

Normal  schools,  cp.  Training 

Oxford  Mission,  85 

Paranjpe,  Principal,  238 
Parda  : absence  of,  163; 

introduction  of  system,  33  ; 

- — - party,  18,  98  ; 

schools,  90,  1 13,  123,  135, 

158,  167 

Parsi,  17,  36,  164,  171  ff.,  198 

235 

Poona,  167,  178,  181 
Prabhu  Brahmans,  164 
Prarthana  Samaj,  170,  241 

Queen  Mary  College,  143 

Rajputana,  153 
Ramabai,  180 
Rangoon,  67,  194 
Religious  instruction,  225  ff. 
Results,  241 

Roman  Catholic,  67,  117 

Sarah  Tucker  School,  45, 
194 

Secondary  training,  58,  125, 
188 

Seva  Sadan,  17 
Social  life,  17,  207 


256  Education  of  Women  of  India 


Society  for  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  67,  142 
Sorabji,  Cornelia,  200 

Lena,  89 

Mrs,  178 

Specialization,  219 
Stages  of  education,  51,  125, 
164 

Stipends,  198 

Students  Literary  and  Scientific 
Society,  165  fif. 

Teachers,  57,  74,  96,  122,  185 
Training  schools,  58,  75,  90,  93, 
1 18,  123,  142,  149,  157,  174, 
177  ff.,  194 
Travancore,  1 52 
Trevandrum,  195 

United  Free  Church  Mis- 
sion, 45,  118,  115,  179 


University,  192  ff. 

Unrest,  political,  20,  208 

Welsh  Presbyterians,  85 
Wesleyan,  139,  15 1 
Whyte,  Miss,  118 
Widows,  58,  123,  149,  157 
Wilson  College,  194,  199 
Wilson,  Mrs,  cp.  Cook 
Wilson,  Mrs  Margaret,  35,  165, 
177 

Wilson,  Miss,  187 
Women’s  colleges,  194 
University,  220 

Y.W.C.A,,  96,  209,  211,  216 

Zenana  Bible  and  Medical 
Mission,  37,  142,  178 
Zenana,  cp.  parda 


